Defence
by ALEO
Summary: Just how can one lone FBI agent, strike that, one lone unarmed FBI agent protect not only the civilians in the building but all the sensitive data as well? Don-whump, naturally! COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

_**Spoilers**__: Rampage, Chinese Box, Sniper Zero, Uncertainty Principal_

_**Acknowledgements**__: Thanks go to __**Valerie Vancollie**__ for providing much needed inspiration at a critical juncture. Without her help this fic would not have progressed as far as it has which would have meant less Don!whump. _

**Summary**: Just how can one lone FBI agent, strike that, one lone _unarmed_ FBI agent protect not only the civilians in the building but all the sensitive data as well?

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**CHAPTER ONE – PROLOGUE**

-10011-1001-1101-1111-1110-

Stealing one last surreptitious glance at his watch he saw that finally the time had come. The relief was so great he couldn't help the long exhalation of breath, as if he'd been holding it all day waiting for this moment. He pretty much had. It earned him a hopeful glance from one his co-workers but he shook his head and covered his slip with a stretch, more than reasonable considering the late hour. The stretch was automatically repeated by the other technician, much like a yawn would have been. He managed a wry grin before he industriously bent back over his keyboard.

The virus he'd planted a few days ago finally activated this morning as intended and he'd constantly checked on it's progress throughout the day. It was a brilliant piece of programming, he'd designed it to work in the background slowly disabling key features and modifying others. As the day had progressed his need to check the time became overwhelming and it had been real struggle to appear to be performing his duties this close to realising his goal.

A few hours ago he had started the deep level scan right on schedule, a normal weekly chore. He had planned everything around the detection of the errors by the scan while the virus itself was programmed to remain hidden and continue its work. Having the in depth knowledge of the scan program made that ridiculously easy, the virus specifically designed to be completely invisible.

It was only a few minutes into the scan that the first errors started appearing, accompanied by a somewhat angry sounding warning beep. He had no choice but to regretfully shut the system down whilst he and the other three techs effected repairs. All their efforts at fault finding had failed thus far, adding to his relief. He had a specific schedule he needed to keep. In response to the time showing on his watch he hit the right sequence of keys and the error was tracked down as if he had lucked onto it.

"Got it!" He announced. The three techs moved so they could see his main screen as he showed the latest result.

Moments later they scattered, returning to their own terminals as they tried to decipher the lines of code that would give them the key to fix the problem. He carefully tracked their efforts on his own terminal, prepared to block them if it looked like they were about to solve the puzzle. He almost snorted as they missed a potentially vulnerable key point and failed, that's why he was the supervisor and they were the techs.

Enough was enough. The time that he had allowed for their attempts to fix it via the mainframe had passed, he had to move. Entering one final command into the security system and accelerating the effects of the virus, Simon hefted his bag and turned to his subordinates. "I've narrowed the fault down to terminal D3-192. I've isolated it from the main system and I'm going to go run some local terminal diagnostics. It shouldn't be tripping the system like it is."

Angela looked up from her screen with a frustrated grunt. "I bet another one of them has installed a fancy desktop again."

That had happened before, an unauthorised program installed onto a local terminal that had affected the system causing the mainframe to crash. It had taken hours to find all the pieces of code and remove them so the mainframe could be rebooted. Hours, during which work in the building was next to impossible as each terminal was reduced to stand-alone and next to useless. After that incident it supposedly required system supervisor access to install new programs but every now and then someone managed to get around it. Another round of nasty e-mails would go out from the techs to the building in general and some time would pass before someone else attempted to load something 'harmless' onto their desktop. It had been a while since the last incident so she figured they were about due. Not that it helped matters any; they were supposed to have been long gone by now for the holiday weekend.

Playing along with the sentiment Simon grumbled something under his breath in agreement as he made his way out of their section and over to the elevators. But that was a farce, inwardly he was smiling to himself. If things continued going well he would be back on Tuesday with no one any the wiser whilst he was well on the way to being so much richer. It hadn't taken long to come up with the idea, sparked by an actual attempt by others, but it had taken a long time to reach the decision to act on it.

It went against the grain after years of working in this building, working to help catch others who had attempted the same crime. But all those efforts had given him all the skills he needed to commit the same offence himself with a much higher probability of succeeding. If what he was about to do was even discovered he would be the lead analyst investigating what had happened and how. It couldn't be more perfect. He had no more regrets, just a simmering excitement that threatened to break free. Simon knew he had to control himself however, whilst the building should be virtually empty by this late hour he couldn't afford for someone to bump into him and wonder why a tech that was working back late before a long weekend was so pleased with himself. There were also the cameras and those monitoring them that he had to be wary of.

Entering the elevator and pressing three he couldn't help but check his watch again. The doors slid closed as right on schedule his cell rang. The caller ID showed the number as restricted so he was cautious. "Prentice."

"_We're here." _

He swallowed. This wasn't a part of his original plan, it had been added later much to his unease. He'd already fought against it and lost, there was nothing for it but to proceed. "I'm on my way to the terminal on three."

"_How are we looking?"_

"All good. I've done everything as we planned." In reality he'd only had to add a few more lines of code into his virus to set things up to include these others.

"_We're in." _The voice sounded relieved, as if he had believed it possible that Simon would have gone back on his word. He wouldn't have got very far if he'd tried that._ "We'll be with you shortly."_ The connection was terminated.

Simon pressed the red button on his cell just to be sure and pocketed it. The last command he'd entered had unlocked the door, forcing it to remain that way until opened and allowed to re-close. The whole in-for-a-penny, in-for-a-pound thing flashed into his mind. He was well and truly in now. There was no going back.

It was his own fault that things had taken this different turn from his original fool-proof plan. He should have known better and stayed away from alcohol as he usually did. Too many drinks under his belt one night drinking with his old friend and he'd let slip too much of his plan. His judgement clouded he had not seen the immediate and intense interest that resulted. Less affected by the alcohol Kurt had plied him with more and encouraged him to ramble on. Before he knew it Kurt and his men were involved, insisting on being here to ensure that nothing went wrong, for a cut of the action naturally.

He'd back-pedalled furiously, trying desperately to convince Kurt that he'd just been shooting his mouth off, going on about something that could be done, not that he was actually going to do it. Kurt wouldn't hear of it. Their paths had diverged somewhat since school but he had maintained contact with him even as the man had gone into a rather contradictory line of work. He knew an opportunity when he heard it deciding that Simon had to continue his plan with their help. Continuing to refuse had only brought threats to tip off the authorities.

Even without knowledge of his intentions if his employers became aware of the type of people he associated with his days in this building wouldn't even be numbered. He would be out the door before he'd had time to take a breath. That, or locked up. After weighing up all the pros and cons he'd had to bring Kurt and his men in. On the bright side, and he had tried desperately to find one, the man had a set of skills that could prove useful in a worst case scenario.

There was no choice, they were in and would be paid. It reduced his potential earnings somewhat but even so there should still be more than sufficient to set him up somewhere very nice and out of reach. He'd never have to work again.

The elevator deposited him on the third floor and as expected it seemed to be completely empty. He took a less than direct route across the floor towards his chosen computer terminal just to be sure. Satisfied, he stepped into the glass walled supervisor's office and adjusted the vertical blinds until they were almost closed. The blinds plus the position of the office, well away from the elevators would give him some warning and time to clear the screen in the unlikely event of someone walking in on him. This terminal had not been isolated from the system as he'd told the others. He'd just made it appear that way, part of the original virus would block any attempt to ping it and alert him if they tried.

Dumping his unneeded toolkit on the floor inside the door he pulled out a series of flash drives all tied together by their lanyards. They had cost him a few dollars; all having the largest memory capacity currently available on the market, but that was just a drop in the bucket compared to the potential return on his investment. He sorted through the string, finding the one with the red mark. This he inserted into one of the available USB ports and allowed the software he'd modified to do its thing. This one was also a truly brilliant piece of programming, but he couldn't take full credit for all of it, just the changes and some new additional data. A second, empty flash drive was inserted into another USB port, ready to soak up the results.

It only took a few minutes. His grin widened as the FBI intranet screen vanished to be replaced by a password request. Touching a few more keys he was directed to a screen with a range of options.

He was in, with full untracked access.

_A/N: You just know that this is going to go pear-shaped, don't you?_

_.  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER TWO**

-100-1111-1110-

And that was that. Special Agent Don Eppes pulled the sheets of paper from the printer, signed the bottom with a flourish and placed the report on the top of the file. He bound the papers together then walked over and dropped the whole lot into the tray from which a civilian staffer would collect it to be delivered to the ADIC for final vetting and then filing. He symbolically dusted his hands. That meant that all of his outstanding paperwork, aside from his active files, was complete. A rare feat and only achieved by staying back late on the day before a public holiday.

The building was practically deserted. Whilst the Los Angeles FBI couldn't exactly shut down for the holiday, approval had been given for those agents on call to work from home. Basically meaning that unless something happened there was no need to go to the office. The policy had come into effect at five o'clock this afternoon and the building had emptied rapidly. Even Don's team had dropped what they were doing and left. They weren't on call for a change and actually had the whole weekend free followed by the Monday itself. Don waved them on after they had hesitated upon noting that he had continued work. Don wanted a clean slate; he wanted to have the next three days off without thinking out about the unfinished reports waiting on his desk.

It was now close to midnight, but it had been worth it. He was clear and could spend tomorrow relaxing at Charlie's house with his family. He would have some BBQ rib-eye, some beers and most importantly no interruptions from work. No excitement at all which was exactly what he wanted, things had been very intense lately. Back at his desk he took a moment and tidied it up, putting everything away and even squaring off his computer keyboard with the monitor. He was going to walk back in after the weekend refreshed and greeted by a tidy desk. Gathering up his coat and keys he headed across the bullpen to the elevator. Just one stop and he was gone.

Arriving on the second floor he headed down the corridor until he reached the locked door. It was dark red and obviously not a standard door, metal skinned and mounted in a clearly strengthened frame. He pressed the intercom button and looked up into the lens of the camera mounted in the corner.

"_Agent Eppes. Come in."_ The lock buzzed and the indicator light above the handle glowed green.

Don pushed the heavy door open and entered the fortified room, the gas arm pulling the door to behind him with a clunk as the lock engaged. As per the rest of the building Control was running on an absolute minimum of staffing, in this case just the two civilians to run the security surveillance on the building and answer any phone or radio calls. This room was never left unattended, the only way in was to be let in by someone inside.

Don stopped by the older woman at the supervisor's desk after waving at the man working across the room. After giving her a quick peck on her cheek he perched on the edge of her desk, the only spot clear of controls. He was careful not to block her view of the banks of camera monitors. "Alexis, how many times have I told you the name is Don?"

The older woman smiled back resting her hand briefly on his knee in the manner of an older aunt. "You can tell me as many times as you like, Agent Eppes."

_Well, it was worth another try_, Don thought smiling and shaking his head. Alexis Carter was old school. She was one of the most senior and longest serving operators in the LA office, not far off retirement. She had commenced her training in the days when the FBI was far more formal in its operations; sworn agents were addressed by title or designation, not by given names. Alexis had asked Don to call her by her given name a few months ago. He'd done so, honoured, but she still couldn't bring herself to reciprocate.

"I heard you drew the short straw." Don said.

"Not so short. I don't mind, neither does Mark." The younger male security supervisor looked up from the computer monitor in front of him at the sound of his name and waved. The staff in Control had become fairly well acquainted with the agent over the last few months. "I'll go home in the morning, have a few hours sleep and have the rest of the weekend." She explained. Her voice changed, sounding much more like the reproachful older aunt. "What are you still doing here? I've been watching you working, you and your team aren't on the duty roster."

"Just catching up. Can you believe I'm up to date?"

She nodded in understanding. "My Andrew was the same, couldn't relax unless the work was done."

Don placed his hand on her shoulder in sympathy. He'd come across the car wreck on his way to a hot job a few months ago. There had been nothing anyone could have done, Andrew had been killed on impact by another car not giving his the right of way despite the lights and siren. The young agent had only just been assigned to this office and Alexis had been extremely proud of his achievement. Don had delivered the news personally before doing all he could to help her with all the arrangements. The help had developed into friendship. Alexis had been back at work now for a couple of months. Tomorrow was the first holiday since her son's death and Don had wanted to see how she was doing, they'd been very close.

"Still checking up on me?" She asked, looking up at him with another smile.

"Guilty as charged."

"I'm fine, thanks."

Don had to admit that she did look like she was coping well. He sat back. "Anyone else working late tonight?"

Alexis waved her hand at the banks of monitors in front of her. A group of civilian technicians were working in a computer lab. As they watched one picked up a bag and headed out of the lab. "Just them. One of them found a glitch in the system that couldn't wait so they are working back to fix it."

Don remembered reading the message on his internal e-mail account earlier in the evening saying that the mainframe would be down for unscheduled maintenance for the next few hours due to an unspecified fault. Fortunately he had not needed access to that system to complete his reports, everything he'd needed had been on his fileserver completely separate from the data storage mainframe.

"Lucky them."

"They weren't too happy about it either, especially as the fault wasn't detectable until the weekly deep level system scan."

"I can imagine." Don frowned and leant over to check a red light on the board. "What's this?"

"Basement emergency exit, south side." Alexis picked up a clipboard from beside her keyboard. "Already noted and on the list. It's been playing up all day apparently. Door shows as open but every time security has checked it they have found it locked. Just a glitch."

"Camera?" He scanned the monitors trying to find the right one. His gaze lit upon it just as Alexis answered the question.

"Down as well."

Don's frown deepened as he stared at the grey hash on the screen. _Two glitches at the same exit at the same time?_ He wondered what Charlie would calculate the odds of that to be. _Pretty steep_, he thought in answer to his own question. He slid off the desk and peered at the checklist Alexis was still holding. There were a few other cameras listed, several just in the last hour or so. He felt the first stirrings of unease as he read the notations, even if they were scattered all through the building. "When was the door last checked?"

"Agent Eppes, this is not your job." Alexis chided. The sworn agents were trained and paid to be suspicious and this agent was one of the best she'd ever seen. Alexis knew where he was leading with his question and in her opinion he worked hard enough as it was without taking on someone else's responsibility. The single remaining guard whose job it was to check the door was currently on rounds and would be at the exit soon enough. She tried to distract her friend, it was high time he gave himself a break. "It's well past time for you to head home."

"It's on my way out anyway." Don reminded her gently, giving her a smile.

Alexis sighed. She had to allow the agent that, his issue SUV was parked nearby, coincidentally on the extreme edge of the nearest functioning camera to the exit. He was going to check the exit regardless of anything she could say. She picked up her pen and started writing. "All right. I'll note your check on the log. If I don't hear anything I'll assume all is secure."

Don waved his goodbye and headed out. He would check the door and then home to Charlie's so he could make an early start on relaxing for the holiday. Despite the prickle of unease he convinced himself that he was being overly suspicious, the glitch had been on the board for most of the day and had been constantly checked. Just the one last check to satisfy himself and he was out of there.

The ride down in the lift seemed to take forever, he figured it was because he was so close to going home and forgetting about work for three whole days. Eventually the doors slid slowly aside and he headed out into the cavernous basement parking lot. He'd never realised how big it was before, looking around now as his footsteps on the concrete actually echoed. Aside from the pool cars parked over near the northern edge there was just his SUV, the cars belonging to the techs, the security guard and the two civilians working back up in Control would be on the next level down. It would have to be the first time he'd seen it this empty.

He walked straight past his SUV and over to the steps leading up to the suspect door. He knew that it led out to the alley that ran down the side of the building. As he approached it appeared possible that he had actual reason to be concerned, his internal alarms that he'd managed to silence started up again. The concrete steps were wet and there was a trail leading back across the parking lot. It had been raining outside for most of the afternoon, the wet weather continuing into the night. On his repeated trips to the break room to refill his coffee he'd seen the fresh rain on the windows.

Just in case it was something innocuous he walked right up to the door, the red light above the handle showed that it was locked. Being an emergency exit though, the handle would still open the door if he were to push on it. Without doing so he gave the outward opening door a solid shove but it remained secure in its frame as it was meant to. He turned the handle, opened it a few inches feeling moisture on the air. He crouched and glanced at the base of the door seeing that the weather strip was still in place. Slowly pulling the door closed he saw that it was working as it should, sealing off the gap under the door. The water could not have blown in or flooded in due to gravity being one step up from the level of the alley. He could no longer put aside the fact that the puddles were footstep shaped. Someone had recently entered the basement via this door. Having come straight from Control he knew that no one had been logged as having come into the building this way.

Hand resting unconsciously on the butt of his holstered gun Don back-tracked, following the trail of water as it changed into shapeless blotches and then disappeared all together. The absorbent concrete worked against him. He lost the trail not far from his SUV, headed in the direction of the nearest internal stairs. Continuing on to the stairwell door, there was a faint click as he opened it cautiously. No sign of anyone having entered this way, but by now their shoes would be well and truly dry and there wouldn't be any water remaining to show their passage.

Don hesitated. He wasn't quite ready to call it in to Control as a breach, not yet. There was always the remote possibility that the guard on rounds had opened the door and checked outside. Don didn't really believe that, there was too much water tracked in to be just one person but he couldn't afford to jump to any conclusions, not on something as serious as this. He decided to check the alley outside the door first.

"_Control."_ The senior operator's voice came over the phone after he'd dialled the number.

"This is Don. I'm at the door and shows as locked. Can you try to unlock it for me?" He was curious to see what would happen at the electronic command, would it show as locked when actually unlocked?

"_I'm trying, but no change on the board, still shows as unlocked."_

Don had seen the lock turn from red to green. "It's unlocked now. I'm going to check the alley, stand-by." Disconnecting the call he put the cell back onto the holder on his belt. He turned the handle even as the lock clicked back to red after timing out and stepped outside.

An instant later his gun was in his hand.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER THREE**

-100-1111-1110-

It was dark in the alley, far darker than it should be. The floodlight that normally illuminated the area was off, another mysterious malfunction. His eyes had not yet adjusted after the brightness of the garage but there was just enough ambient light cast by a nearby streetlight that a vague shape registered on his senses. Without conscious thought he drew his Glock before he could fully identify what he was seeing. It took a few more moments before he recognised the shape of a man lying still against the wall of the building.

Don swept his gun around in an arc clearing the alley before he could move any further. No dangers were immediately visible, it appeared that the alley was empty bar him and the body.

Despite being sure what he was going to discover the agent slowly approached the still form, weapon held ready. A little closer and he recognised the uniform worn by the building's security officers. After another quick check of the area around him he squatted beside the body, his left hand reaching for the carotid artery on the man's neck. Nothing, the man was dead. Two red rimmed holes in the otherwise pristine white shirt showed that he'd been shot twice at close range in the chest, directly into his heart. He would have been dead before hitting the ground. Glancing around once more Don took the man's weapon from its holster. He carefully inspected the muzzle and saw no residue from it having been fired. A careful sniff confirmed it, just gun oil. The guard had never even got a shot off in his own defence.

Don kept the weapon in his hand as he stepped back thinking on his next move. The guard's shirt was barely wet, he hadn't been outside in the lightly falling rain for long, perhaps five minutes at the most. If Don had gone straight to his vehicle instead of stopping off at Control he might have been caught in whatever had happened here. Or he might have prevented it. The agent shook it off, there was no time for what-ifs.

He quickly moved a few paces towards the street, checking the ground as he went for any useful evidence. A couple of bright glints reflected in the faint streetlight, throwing back a hint of yellow. Bending he was able to confirm that they were shell casings, picking one up carefully by the edges he sniffed. The strong aroma proved that it was fresh. He put it back where he'd found it having also learnt the calibre of the weapon used on the guard, 9mm.

He was convinced, there had been entry made to the FBI building by force. He holstered his own gun and pulled his cell phone back off his belt and hit redial. He barely let Alexis answer before he started speaking. "Control, full alert. There has been a breach to the building. I've just found the security guard dead in the alley."

The operator's voice was shocked._ "You found Steven?"_

Don remembered seeing the name on the dead guard's nametag. "Yeah."

A sudden thought occurred and he looked up at the camera mounted on the corner of the building pointing down the alley, it didn't need the floodlight to work. "I'm still in the alley, can you see me?"

The now alarmed and puzzled voice came back. _"No. Alley is clear and empty."_

So, not only was the spotlight not working, but the surveillance system was actually showing an active image, an image that could not be real. It was too much, the glitches could not possibly be random. His line of thought was interrupted.

"Orders, Agent Eppes?" Alexis requested briskly, all trace of emotion gone now from her voice. There were protocols in place but he was the agent on the scene.

"Buzz the door, I'm coming back in. Call the bosses then get the LAPD down here to secure the alley and the body." Don had retained the man's weapon so that it was secure from thieving hands, not too likely in this weather but one could never tell. Technically he should remain with the body until LAPD arrived but as harsh as it sounded, the man was dead and nothing more could happen to him. The agent had far more pressing concerns, there were armed intruders who had killed to gain entry. He was now the only armed line of defence to defend the security of the building, protect the civilians and locate the intruders.

"_We're on it. Is the door open?"_

The lock flicked green as she spoke and he pushed the handle. "I'm in. Lock the building down, full security protocols."

His order would secure all the possible exits and entries to the building including the fire escapes, internal stairways on opposite sides of the building. A potential national security threat overrode fire safety ordinances.

"_Done." _

The automatic alert siren sounded but abruptly cut off, with the building all but empty there was no need to allow it to continue after the first few tones. Red lights suddenly winked on across the garage at each exit, including the main vehicle exit. The lights mounted above each door, separate to the locks, indicated that it was sealed. Swipe cards and control pads were overridden. The only way to access doors locked in this manner was to call Control and be buzzed through each individually. The indicators next to the elevators counted up as the cars ascended to stop, locked in place, on the top floor. They would not respond to calls from any floor until released by Control.

The system was intended to make it difficult for any unauthorised movement from section to section or floor to floor. The building's designers had been working to a very detailed brief covering a whole range of eventualities. The full lockdown was to be used for everything from chemical, biological or radiological threats both internal and external to the building, through to preventing the escape of prisoners or forced entry. It was a little late for the entry component but if he could hold the intruders in until help arrived then they would be caught.

It would also serve to restrict his movements but not as much, he hoped, as it would restrict the intruders. He had a way through the locked doors. He added another instruction. "I'm going to conduct a sweep, working my way up from here. Monitor me and buzz me through each section."

"_Will do. Reinforcements should be on their way shortly_." Alexis responded. Her voice softened slightly as she added, _"Take care, Agent Eppes."_

Don snapped his phone closed and debated for a moment what to do with the security officer's weapon. He glanced over at his SUV. He could secure the weapon there plus the vehicle also contained further equipment that could be of use. Cautiously he once again scanned the garage before unlocking the Suburban and pulling out the equipment tray. Working as quickly as he could he put on a vest and slid his smaller back-up Glock into the holster mounted against his chest all the time keeping his other weapon close to hand. His rifle caught his eye and he stopped, considering. He really didn't know how many intruders there were or what armaments they might have beyond at least one 9mm. He put it back, the length of the weapon would be a disadvantage inside the building. Being well practiced gearing up in a hurry it was only a few minutes later that he was settling the radio earpiece into his left ear. Re-locking the Suburban he called in for a radio check and received the welcome response.

"_3695 this is Control."_ Mark's voice confirmed the link. The reception was a little distorted due to the concrete between him and the nearest receiver. The building had been wired with small receivers and transmitters placed strategically to allow for effective comms within the structure, just as it had been re-wired recently to allow for cell phone reception in the basement. _"LAPD en-route. ADIC being advised of situation."_

"Received." Don replied into his mic as he headed for the stairwell door. "Further comms via radio unless otherwise directed."

"_Control, acknowledged. Radio comms."_

The lock buzzed as he approached and he once again opened the door. Knowing a bit more about what he now faced he was more cautious. He ducked his head in and then back out quickly. Taking a second he processed the mental snapshot he'd taken in the quick glance and stepped all the way in. The stairwell was still empty. Weapon up and ready he made his way up to the first landing and the door. The lock buzzed and he pushed downwards on the handle and opened the door a crack. No hail of bullets greeted the movement. He opened the door further and peered through, no one in sight.

"Control, 3695. First floor, entrance. Anything on the cameras?"

"_Negative."_ Mark responded.

Don heard the doubtful tone in Mark's voice. It reminded him of his interrupted musings in the alley. The cameras couldn't be fully trusted at the moment, the one in the alley had showed all clear, no body, not even Don. The camera was not down, it was functioning, just getting it's feed from somewhere other than the alley. That led to one conclusion, the building's surveillance system was being hacked.

"Get the techs to check the camera system." Don ordered.

"_Already on it, more internal cameras are going down."_

Don clicked his transmit button twice to acknowledge the response before moving out. It wouldn't take too long to check this floor which pretty much consisted of the entry foyer, information/security desk, metal detectors and public bathrooms.

-10100-101-11-1000-10011-

"Computer lab." Angela answered the phone, putting it on speaker. The three technicians listened with growing fear as Mark from Control explained what was going on, that there were intruders in the building.

The alert siren had sounded briefly a few minutes before leaving the techs wondering what was going on. From their lab they could see the elevators and they'd noticed the indicators change as they ascended. Stepping out into the hall she'd checked the status lights over the section door at the end and saw that it was sealed. They were in lockdown. She'd reported back to her co-workers and with no call for evacuation they had remained in the lab waiting further instructions. All of which was strictly according to the procedure that had been drummed into them through the monthly building drills. Angela had been reluctant to call Control assuming that with an alert they would be busy dealing with the cause.

"_So for the moment we need you to all stay put."_ Mark said when he'd finished.

"Okay." Angela agreed. That was not going to be a problem, none of them were agents and thus not inclined to seek out trouble.

"_In the meantime we think the cameras are being hacked, we are getting intermittent feeds from some and false images on others." _Mark went on to list the ones they knew about.

"We'll get right onto it." Angela promised, already opening another window on her multi-screen workstation. She suddenly remembered they were down a man. "Our supervisor, Simon Prentice, is down on three checking on a dud terminal."

"_I know, but because of the camera glitches I can't see him, which terminal was it?"_

"D3-192." She consulted a schematic. "Cyber Crime Supervisor's desk, third floor."

"_Remember, no matter what happens stay put unless you get a call from us, understand?" _

"Got it. We're not going anywhere. We'll call if we get anything on the cameras." Angela hung up and shared a worried look with her two companions.

Suddenly the sealed door down the hall and disabled elevators didn't seem to be enough. She got up closed the lab door, turning the lock. As if the movement was the needed catalyst her companions turned to their screens and started work. Angela returned to her own desk and closed off everything they no longer needed, including the diagnostic that would chew up precious processing power and slow their search.

-10011-1001-1101-1111-1110-

The ring of the desk phone was unexpected, as had been the alert siren several minutes before. He'd had no word from Kurt, or from anyone else leaving him to wonder what had gone wrong. Checking the LCD display he recognised the calling number as Control. He fought down the sudden spike of alarm that went through him, he had to answer it.

"Prentice."

He listened in silence as Mark explained what was happening.

Mark's information about intruders had been almost a relief, relief that Simon had not been discovered even if Kurt and his men had. He dutifully promised not to leave the supervisor's office and hung up.

A moment later and his alarm returned. How had they determined that there were intruders in the building? Urgently he double-checked his systems and saw that everything was as it should be, the accelerated virus randomly disabling cameras and hiding itself from the attempts of his co-workers to resolve the problems with the system without him. Checking the mainframe he found that the deep level scan had been paused. Wondering what they were doing instead he searched further, pulling up a mirror of Angela's monitor using a cookie he'd installed just in case. He frowned as he noted that they seemed to be working directly on resolving the camera problems as he tracked her attempts to access the systems that controlled them. Simon had to pause his other work to attend to that, successfully blocking their attempts. He could almost feel their frustration in each command that he diverted, replied to with garbage or just plain deleted. A quick few lines of code were added to the virus and it was updated.

Whatever the cause behind the discovery that all was not well in the building it was an unwelcome wrinkle in a plan that until then had been going perfectly. Reassured that the virus would be able to handle their future efforts he clicked _resume_ and waited for the last few seconds that it took for the first flash drive to reach capacity. Simon pulled it out and connected the second, clicking his mouse to continue the download. There was nothing for it, he would hold to his plan until something else happened, trusting that Kurt knew his business and would make his way to him in due course.

That reminded him, he opened another window and accessed the next series of commands he would need as a result of the alert. He was ready. When the first request came through a few minutes later he was able to act smoothly.

.


	4. Chapter 4

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

_**A/N:** Your patience is to be rewarded, things are about to ramp up a notch...  
_

**CHAPTER FOUR**

-100-1111-1110-

The first floor had been cleared as quickly as he expected. Moving up to the second floor he resigned himself to what was going to be a time consuming task. This floor, like the rest of the building, was mainly office space. There were several separate sections with individual offices and several larger areas similar to the bull pen with partitioned cubicles in each. The dark red door to Control he could ignore, moving on to the first section.

As he went from room to room, space to space on the floor Don wondered what the intruders could be after. There were no prisoners in the building to free, no important personages to attack. Nor was he aware of any agents involved in high profile cases at risk of assassination. He briefly considered the Russian Mafia, he was reasonably certain his name featured somewhere on their list of funeral wreaths to buy, but quickly discounted that theory. It had been quite a while since he had appeared on their radar. Anyway, an operation like that had to be planned. The intruders would have to know who was in the building and he was not scheduled to be there. Even the Russian Mafia would hesitate before attempting this sort of manoeuvre.

So that left the civilians and the security guard. The guard had been killed and the intruders had still breached the building, therefore the guard was not the target. _What about Alexis or Mark? Or the techs?_ Of the civilians Don was most familiar with Alexis and could not see her being the target. Mark he didn't know as well and the techs not really at all. Surely if a single person was the target then it would be far easier to attack them outside the building. It just didn't make any sense.

Don stopped for a moment as he thought that through for a moment. His reasoning meant that it wasn't some_one_ but some_thing_ that the intruders wanted. Something that was only available inside the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. _Evidence?_ There were always cases on the go where the loss of evidence would cause the matter to be thrown out of court. With the court system these days it wouldn't matter how the evidence was lost. _What about drugs?_ Clearing another office he shook his head, there had to be an easier way to get a supply of drugs, hitting a street dealer or a lab for instance. But still it was possible and he had to work accordingly. There was an evidence locker on each floor attached to each section and the main long term store up on the eighth floor. He would have to check them all. He started moving again. The intruders hadn't been in the building long, the quicker he got to them the better.

Another thought struck him. _What about weapons?_ The armoury was in the sub-basement along with the firing range. For a moment he considered making his way back down and checking that before he proceeded further but changed his mind. The entrance to the armoury was either via the elevator or the second stairwell, not the one the wet track had led him to. That made it less likely that the armoury was the target. It was also far better secured than other areas in the building.

_What else?_ _What else was there that was only available inside this building and that was important enough to murder over?_ He checked the evidence locker, secure, before starting to clear another room when the desk caught his eye. More accurately, the computer on the desk caught his eye. Information. Access to the FBI database was restricted to password access and while some areas could be logged into offsite, a feature he knew Charlie had found handy, full access to the main database required the use of an internal terminal. He remembered that the system was down which was why the techs were still in the building.

"Control, 3695."

"_Control."_

"Where are the techs?"

"_Fourth floor, lab two." _Mark reported._ "There is one in the third floor supervisor's office."_

He'd forgotten that but now recalled seeing the tech leave their lab on the security monitor in Control. He was grateful for the reminder. "What's he doing there?"

"_Apparently he'd tracked the fault to the supervisor's office in the Cyber Crime Unit just before the lockdown. He's been told to stay put."_

_Damn_. Having them split up across two floors made his job harder. He'd been intending to make his way up to them, clearing ground behind him. Once he'd rounded them up he was planning on taking them back to Control, the most secure place he could leave them before continuing his search for the intruders. Now he'd have to make the trip to Control twice, greatly slowing his progress.

"They're secure?"

"_They've been alerted and are locked in. They're working on the camera problem."_

"Good. Is the system up?"

There was a pause, presumably as Mark tried to log into the main database. _"Negative."_

"Tell the techs to make sure it stays down. The intruders could be after the database. Tell them to lock out all passwords if necessary." Even in the security conscious FBI there were people who had trouble remembering passwords and would write them down. All it would take was for an intruder to find one to gain access. Then again, the convoluted, non-user friendly system might give an intruder pause as they tried to figure out how to find what they were after. For the first time he understood what had always seemed unfathomable, the unnecessarily difficult system had actually been designed that way for a reason. It wasn't just to make life difficult for agents legitimately trying to do their jobs as the legend held.

"_Received."_

"Have them check to see if any access is being attempted. Advise me of the location if they get one." He was at the next section door which buzzed again for him. Mark was consistently monitoring him and so far he'd not needed to call up for access. That he expected to change with the cameras failing.

"_Received."_

"3695 out."

He finished the last section, entered the stairwell and moved up to the third floor. The door buzzed and he moved through at a crouch, a waiting offender would be more likely to aim high. Again, no bullets greeted him. The tech was supposed to be in a supervisor's office. He wasn't going to call out for the man to identify himself, he needed to keep to his silent approach. For one he didn't want to scare the civilian but more importantly the floor hadn't been cleared, for all he knew the intruders could be nearby.

He popped up briefly to get an idea of the floor's layout. Grimacing he returned to his crouch, this was going to take some time. The floor was a maze of cubicles, walls and hallways providing excellent hiding places that was not going to make his life easy. Sound was also going to be an issue, at least on the other floors the separate sections had given him a small buffer, faint sounds could not travel as far. There was nothing for it but to get down to business and approach his search systematically.

He was making his painstaking way along the wall, checking the potential places of concealment in each cubicle he passed when his cell rang. The sound was incredibly loud in the almost silent office space causing him to start and his heart to pound. _Idiot!_ Despite ordering all comms to be via his radio he'd still forgotten to turn the ringer off and leave it only on vibrate. He recovered from his automatic freeze and scrabbled at his belt, struggling to pull the phone from it's holder due to the overhanging vest, all the while it was ringing merrily away without a care to Don's attempt at stealth.

"Eppes." He snapped into the offending instrument after finally getting it off his belt and the damned ringing stopped.

"_H-hey, Don."_ Charlie seemed a little taken aback at the abruptness of the answer. _"Are you nearly done yet?"_

Don pressed his back against the wall where he could watch both directions. "There's a problem…"

"_Don, you promised,"_ Charlie started, interrupting the other.

"Not now, Charlie!" Don hissed, trying to keep his voice down. With every floor he cleared it was just that little more likely he was going to come across the intruders. He also didn't want the tech on this floor to start wandering around after hearing his voice if he hadn't already after hearing the ringing. "There's been unauthorised access to the Field Office. I'm searching it now. I can't talk."

"_Are you alright? Is there anything I can do? Who should I call?" _The questions came rapid fire, echoing his older brother's terseness.

-1011-10101-10010-10100-

Kurt's head snapped up as he halted his stealthy movement. He crouched, listening a moment longer until he was sure but there could be no mistake, the sound was carrying clearly. He checked the men trailing behind him, all three of them had mirrored his actions and were facing the direction of the sound, weapons up and ready.

They looked at each other, each realising what the sound signified. There was an active cell phone nearby. They'd been on their way to check a slight click heard moments before, a click that could possibly have been a door. Now there was a cell phone leading Kurt to suspect that their worst case scenario might be about to play out, an agent working back late. That could cause a serious problem. They'd been assured that no agent would be in the building by this time and they'd not had any calls correcting that. As professionals though they were prepared for every eventuality and were hardly going to rely solely on their contact's word.

To that end they'd not come directly to the third floor, having stopped instead at each floor on the way up to conduct their own sweeps. They'd finished the first floor and were in the stairwell when the alert had sounded. The activation of the security systems had caused them to be trapped in the stairwell, the door to the second floor locked against them forcing them to call their contact for help. He wasn't able to tell them how they'd been discovered just that it was suspected there were intruders in the building. Even more cautious they'd searched the second floor as best they could, restricted by the need to remain in the areas covered by blinded cameras to avoid detection.

Again on reaching this floor they'd taken the time to make a very careful check, wanting to ensure that there would be no surprises before making their contact. With most of the cameras out they'd made better time and had been approaching the supervisor's office before the click and now the ringing phone had interrupted them.

Kurt pointed at the fourth man and issued a quiet order. "Matt, get to our contact and keep him quiet."

The black clad man nodded and moved off confidently, each man had memorised a schematic of this floor and knew it like the backs of their hands. It was not lost on the remaining three similarly dressed men that he was moving in the opposite direction from the phone ruling out their contact. The three split up, each taking a different route through the maze of partitions towards the sound coming from near the set of stairs they had not long exited. It suddenly stopped, suggesting it had been answered. There was only one way to be sure.

A few moments of stealthy movement and Kurt heard the voice just as he reached the corner of a hallway formed on one side by cubicles and the other by a real wall.

"I'm fine. I've called in for reinforcements." The hushed male voice floated around the corner.

He dropped to his knees and carefully peered around the wall. Luck was with him, the speaker was looking the other way. The agent's head started to turn and Kurt ducked back out of sight avoiding detection. He sat back for a moment considering.

That the man in the hall was an agent was not in doubt, not with the bullet resistant tactical vest with large white "FBI" lettering on the front and the weapon in the agent's hand. His experienced eye had picked out the second holstered on the vest. Kitted up like that also made it all the more obvious that the agent knew something was seriously wrong. Even worse the man had already called for back-up. _The security guard, the agent must have found the dead guard_. That answered the question as to how the alert had been raised. Kurt cursed inwardly at their increasing lack of fortune; this job was turning into a right mess.

All had been going well, they had arrived at the door in the alley and it had been unlocked as promised. They'd barely opened the door when everything almost came undone. They had been confronted by the guard who had been just as surprised as they were. The hapless man had been at the top of the stairs as the supposedly locked door opened right in front of him. With four of them against the lone guard the odds were in their favour to recover from the surprise first. Tony had won the race, his reflexes faster than the guard's, his silenced weapon firing twice in a classic double-tap taking the man out. This agent must have somehow found the body they'd tried to hide by dragging it the rest of the way out into the alley.

He cursed again and gently flicked the safety off his semi-automatic. With just a few seconds to think he came up with a less than ideal course of action. This had to be finished right now, killing a fed had not been part of the plan but they were too far in now. Kurt took a deep breath and eased back around the corner, raising the weapon and taking careful aim at the agent's unprotected head.

.


	5. Chapter 5

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER FIVE**

-100-1111-1110-

Precious moments were ticking by making him feel ever more exposed. If he'd cleared the floor it would have been different but he'd only just started on this one. The sound of his brother's voice on the phone was like a lifeline but one that he needed to release in a hurry.

"Charlie, I have to go."

"_Don-" _

Whatever his younger brother had been about to say was lost as the bullet struck the wall beside his head, spraying plaster chips into the left side of his face. The phone fell forgotten to land unnoticed on the floor as his hand moved to join and brace his right on his gun. He spun towards the left, dropping into a defensive crouch as he moved. A second loud shot in the confines of the hall and searing pain burnt a track along his upper left arm as the bullet struck. He snapped off a return shot in reflex at the dark head shaped object already ducking out of sight. He glanced back over his shoulder, checking his options. The hall behind him was clear and he was totally exposed.

He fired a second time, his own round spraying plaster chips as it struck the wall near the sniper's position. He'd not really had any expectations of striking the man; it was designed to force the man to keep his head down, giving the agent an extra precious second or so. He used it, sprinting away in the opposite direction down the empty hall; to have advanced would have been tantamount to suicide. It had been nothing less than a miracle that the intruder's first round had missed, staying in the hall gave away the chance he'd just been given.

With no time to check for other intruders he bolted around the corner. His luck held, the new hall was fortunately empty but it didn't mean he was safe. Still running he took another few paces and found the hall opening out into one of the larger spaces filled with low partitions and associated cubicles. He slowed, taking a moment to glance at his arm to assess the severity of his injury. Blood was already flowing and starting to run quickly down his arm, it wouldn't be long before it started dripping.

Rapid footsteps behind him signalled that the intruder was in pursuit, the man yet to clear the hallway and gain sight of his quarry. Don had to move. He started to turn intending to conceal himself close by and turn the tables on his pursuer. A dark shape moved in his peripheral vision. Glancing back he saw a man dressed all in black heading his way at a run, hunched over to try and take advantage of what concealment there was. It was a second intruder, trying to cut him off.

Abandoning his plan Don scuttled into the first crossway then zigged and zagged his way across the room heading for the stairwell door. He had to lead the two intruders away from the tech, hoping that as he didn't know exactly where the Cyber Crime Supervisor's office was he wasn't actually leading trouble straight to him. There were no options though, he'd gone from hunter to hunted and was outnumbered. A new plan had formed that may help improve his chances.

Finally he neared the stairwell door, hoping desperately that the camera he'd just passed under was still functional. Now would not be a good time to be slowed by calling in to Control, he didn't have the time. To his great relief the lock clicked, the light flashing green just as he reached it. His sigh of relief came out as a slightly heavier exhale in amongst his rapid breaths, he could have been very nearly trapped. He didn't hesitate but noisily smashed the door open before turning aside and doubling back around another set of partitions. He swapped the gun to his left hand and pulled the wounded arm up close against his chest. His right hand clamped over the injury, he had to prevent fresh drops of blood from falling and revealing his true path. It should look like he'd escaped into the stairwell, an illusion that would be helped by the bloody handprint he'd left on the door.

Don had time to pass only two cubicles before the closeness of the pursuing footsteps forced him to take cover. Rolling a chair out of the way he made himself as small as possible, squeezing under a desk before pulling the chair across behind him. Opening his mouth he breathed as deeply as he could, trying to be quiet knowing that the enclosed space would work against him to focus and magnify any sound he made. Two sets of feet ran past following his previous path seconds later. The next sound was the door being smashed back open, it hadn't yet had time to close fully. He'd needed so many things to come together to make this work and so far everything had. The two men disappeared, their footsteps louder now on the bare concrete of the steps. He waited until the door finally closed before he made any move.

Pushing the chair aside he crawled out of his hiding place, his elbow gently knocking against the set of drawers in the tight space. Releasing his grip on the wound he wiped his hand on his trouser leg to clean off the blood. Pulling out the tail of his shirt he used it to clean the grip on the Glock before taking the weapon again in his master hand. After glancing quickly around and seeing nothing he had a better look at the injury. It was messy but not deep, the bleeding already easing. The bullet had torn through the upper layers of flesh but not much of the muscle, the graze painful but not especially debilitating. He also wiped his left hand and lower arm clean; it wouldn't do to leave any more bloody handprints around the place in case there were more intruders. He'd found two intruders so far, or rather they had found him. There could easily be more so he was going to operate under that assumption until he was sure. Sparing a moment he looked over at the elevators, there should be a first aid kit mounted on the wall there. Perhaps when he'd finished clearing the floor and had the tech in tow he would have a chance to make for it on the way back to Control.

Taking a deep breath he felt the tremors in his hands from the adrenalin in his system; a perfectly normal and expected reaction. Another calming breath and the tremors started to ease. He was safe and the two men should now be trapped in the stairwell, the operators in Control being the only ones able to let them out via the secured doors and only on his order. Don had no intention of giving that order anytime soon, they had to remain locked away as he continued on his task. It was hardly a cell but it was the best he could manage. He wiped a cleaned hand across his brow then down his face, the shakes were gone. He climbed cautiously back to his feet, weapon up and tracking as he scanned the area around him. Nothing, as far as he could tell he was alone.

"Control, 3695." He called softly over the radio, years of experience involved in dangerous operations had given him that skill.

"_Control."_ Alexis herself answered immediately.

From the tightly controlled concern in her voice Don suspected that she had seen at least some of what had happened, more than just his arrival at the door and the subsequent passage of his pursuers. "Do you have a visual on the two men in stairwell one?"

"_Negative, those cameras are down. Any injuries?"_

"Negative." The graze didn't count. "I'll sweep the rest of this floor and get that tech. When I've got him I'll bring him to you. Watch for me at stairwell two." The stairwells were completely isolated from each other, there was no way that the men could move from one to the other.

"_Received. Very patchy coverage on floor three, the worst of any floor, but we still have that camera."_

"Roger that. 3695, out."

Returning to slow and stealthy movements he returned to clearing the floor, paying particular attention to the cubicles and the spaces under the desks which he'd already used to his own advantage. Working his way along the row he wondered why this floor had more cameras out than the others. That information combined with his discovery of two intruders on this level pointed towards their target being here. But if all they were after was information from the system as per his last theory they could get that from any terminal on any floor. It had to be more than that, there was something special about this level. He checked the signs hanging from the suspended ceiling. He may work in this building and have a reasonable idea what sections were where but he couldn't recall the last time he'd been on this floor. The signs were helpful in that regard.

He was currently moving through Fraud and was heading towards the large Cyber Crime section. Across to his right was Theft and further over was another large section, Corporate Crime rounding out the floor. Nothing very exciting there, but he recognised that was a biased view coming from his Violent Crime perspective. He knew that proceeds from white collar crimes often exceeded those that he regularly dealt with. Money was an excellent motivator, most crimes, violent or otherwise were often committed in the search for more money. There was no time for a thorough investigation but at random he moved into cubicles, checking the files on the desks to see if he could luck onto something.

-1011-10101-10010-10100-

The bloody handprint may have been red on a red door but to Kurt's detailed eye it stood out. He'd been sure he'd hit the agent with his second shot before the increasing trail of red had confirmed it, helpfully leading them directly here. The agent was moving too fast for the bullet wound to be severe but it was a start, the blood trail the first pointer. He expected to find more such indications, but even if they didn't the injury would cause the agent pain which would distract him. They would have to check the bathrooms and medical kits, injured men usually attempted to treat their wounds at some point.

He followed Damian through and into the stairwell. The other man headed down to the left. Kurt turned right and headed up. Of the two of them he was more likely to come across the agent, in vehicle pursuits it was common for the quarry to turn right, the easiest turns. He knew that years of driving ingrained that response into any driver and translated across to foot chases quite well. Kurt ran up the first two flights and checked the door to the fourth floor. It was still locked and there was no sign of blood. The thought occurred that locked doors may not be as much of an impediment to the agent as he had to think it would be for them. Someone else must have been buzzing him through for him to have made it up to the third floor in the first place let alone into the fire escape. Either way the lack of blood suggested he'd not gone through this door. Advancing more cautiously he continued up. Two more floors and he decided he was on a wild goose chase. He headed back down.

Reaching the third floor landing a few more minutes later he found Damian waiting for him. The man's posture and expression told him all he needed to know.

"Nothing." Damian reported at Kurt's look.

"Same." Kurt took a closer look at the floor, as he'd done on his way back down the steps, still no signs of blood whereas before there had been a steadily growing trail culminating in the handprint on the door. It had all been a ruse, the agent had been allowing the wound to bleed before covering it up to hide his real trail. He was starting to develop some respect for the agent. "Tricky bastard, he's got to still be on three."

"Clever." Damian allowed.

Kurt pulled his cell from his jacket pocket and pressed one of the speed dials. "It's me. You're with him? ... Good. Get him to override the lock, stairwell one, third floor." The door buzzed open a second later and he waved at Damian to lead the way through as he continued speaking to Matt, lowering his voice until his was almost inaudible. "Heads up, the agent is still on the third floor, we'll work our way back to you. Tony is still out there somewhere as well."

"Tony'll find him." Damian murmured softly as Kurt crouched beside him after slowing the door's movement until it closed with barely a sound. The click as the lock engaged seemed loud after his efforts.

Kurt nodded. Each of his men had their area of expertise, he maintained a pool of which he could draw from at need. Three had been selected for this project. He was their tactician and chose their targets or employers. Damian was good with weapons and Matt was muscle. Tony was perhaps the most dangerous, a hunter with blinding reflexes and a penchant for moving silently through the terrain be it forest or the city. His silence extended to his choice of weapons, a knife or as earlier in the alley, a pistol fitted with a suppressor. The reduction in effective range wasn't much of an issue for him, he usually was right on top of his prey before he used lethal force. There was an air of something off about the hunter but he was very good at what he did. He agreed with Damian, Tony would probably find the agent and take him out before he even knew he was hunted.

They made their way out into the field of partitions, staying together this time. If by some unknown stroke of luck the agent avoided Tony the two of them together would be enough to overpower him.

.


	6. Chapter 6

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER SIX**

-10011-1001-1101-1111-1110-

The sudden arrival of the gun toting man had nearly given him a heart attack. Knowing that they were on the floor and having gotten a glimpse of them on one of the cameras had still not prepared him for the sight. The man was clothed completely in black, from his dull black boots, baggy utility trousers and multi-pocket shirt to a black knitted cap on his head. Combine that with the largest handgun Simon had ever seen held ready in one hand and it was enough to give anyone palpitations. He'd once seen agents dressed up in their Kevlar vests and hefting machine guns inside the building after someone had taken an agent hostage in one of the elevators, but that was nothing compared to this image of sheer menace. The large man had been with him for all of two minutes barely giving him enough time to get over that shock before he heard the first shot.

"What was that?" Simon demanded, as the sound of the fourth and seemingly last shot died away.

The man grunted, not too concerned. His faith in his skills and those of his team gave him confidence to believe that even if the person with the cell was an agent they wouldn't stand a chance. "I guess they found him."

Simon stared at the man, finding the man's words less than reassuring. "Found who? There's no one there."

A shake of the head this time. "Someone was there with a cell phone."

"There couldn't be. I checked and there was no one here. That was only just before the lockdown." Simon insisted but the man who'd introduced himself only as Matt the first time they'd met simply shrugged his shoulders, appearing almost disinterested. That changed a moment later as there was a loud crash. Matt spun, weapon raised towards the sound. He moved to the door of the office and looked out.

"Stay here."

Simon bristled at the order in the man's voice, that tone of voice was not something he was accustomed to. It only took a glance at Matt to remind himself of the menace the man presented even if it wasn't actually directed at him. He did as he was told watching while Matt moved out a few yards and along the hall a short distance, his head and gun scanning as he appeared to be looking for something. A few seconds later he lowered the gun slightly and returned to the office.

"What is it?"

The grunt wasn't so unconcerned this time. "Looks like he's trying to get away. He's in the fire escape."

That wasn't right. "He can't be."

Another shrug. "He is. Kurt and Damian went after him."

"But-" Simon cut himself off, this black clad lump of muscle wouldn't understand.

He turned back to his screen and after a search had his answer. The security system showed a history of commands, but not his as he'd been sure to delete those. He scrolled down the list and found what he was looking for, a command entered just a minute ago to override the security seal on the door to stairwell one, third floor. He recognised the user code and terminal address, it was Control. He'd been concentrating his efforts on stopping his co-workers attempts to regain command of the system, ignoring Control. Now he scrolled back up the list and a pattern emerged.

"The guard wasn't on this floor." He announced. It seemed that Control had neglected to tell him about a roving security guard during their warning phone call earlier.

"What do you mean?" Matt peered over the geek's shoulder but couldn't make much sense of the closely typed list on the screen. It was all just numbers to him.

Simon scrolled down the list as he explained. "He's come up from the basement. He must have been the one that called for the alert. Control have been buzzing him through all the doors to get here."

That Matt could understand. "He's been hunting us."

The technician had a sudden thought and opened a new window to one of the external cameras. "No, no, no. Damnit!" Simon swore, clicking his mouse to open other windows.

"What is it?"

Simon didn't answer immediately, checking the real video feeds from the external cameras. He could see movement at nearly every one of them. Reinforcements were arriving. Soon they would be trying to gain entry to the building. This was just going so wrong. He shut the windows down; he needed to avoid cluttering up the terminal's local memory or he wouldn't be able to keep on top of everything. The screen cleared of all except the program feeding his flash drive, which he reluctantly had to pause, and the second window that he had been using to buzz Kurt through the internal doors. Clicks of the mouse and some commands on the keyboard sent him diving into a different directory inside the security software. The redundancy built into the system meant that the external door controls were kept separate from those for the internal doors. Another window appeared and he had to move quickly to block the first override attempt.

"What are you doing?"

"Quiet!" The technician demanded. He couldn't afford to have his concentration interrupted. If he missed just one command, a door would be opened allowing access to the building. The attempts stopped and he figured that Control would now be calling his co-workers, asking them to find the 'fault'. He had a moment's respite. His talents had really been wasted working here, his fingers flew over the keyboard as he wrote half a page of code in record time. A snappy debug and it was uploaded into the security software. The attempts of his co-workers could now only fail, nothing they could do would get the doors to open. Even if they somehow discovered the new code buried under a smokescreen and other layers of protection he was the only one with the correct password that would free the system. He sat back with a satisfied smirk.

Matt had followed the computer geek's work without fully understanding what he was doing. It was clear though that it had been connected with the cameras showing the arrival of LAPD and black vehicles that could only be FBI to the building. Matt's cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Buried beneath layers of clothing the buzzing was inaudible as intended but he could feel the vibrations. "What? ... Yes. Okay." Tapping the geek on the shoulder he passed on Kurt's order. He listened to the rest of his boss' words. "Right. I'll be ready."

"What's going on?"

"The agent got away, he's still on this floor somewhere. Get back to work." Matt ordered, not missing the flash of anger in the geek's eyes. He didn't know Kurt's plans for sure but figured the geek's anger wouldn't matter, he expected his days were probably numbered.

He double checked his gun, pulling back the slide slightly to reveal the chambered bullet. Let the agent come, he'd not killed a cop before and he was open to new experiences. Moving to the door Matt took up a position where he could keep the approaches to the office under surveillance.

-10100-1111-1110-11001-

Frustrated, Tony stopped. He'd been closing in on the position of the cell phone and its owner when he'd heard the shot. It was followed in quick succession by three more, the first two were from one weapon, the other two from a second. Running footsteps moved rapidly away. A second set of footsteps followed a moment later, clearly both shooters had survived their encounter. One would have been someone from his team, Kurt he thought, the first gun had sounded like his .45. The second weapon had the flatter crack of a Glock sealing the probability that the owner of the cell phone was an agent. He rose, moving carefully after the action, he was not one to reveal himself until it was all over.

He was not far away when he heard the stairwell door open. He peered out from concealment and saw the top of the door start to swing shut. A moment later it swung open again and he heard the sounds of his companions entering the stairs. The only thing was he hadn't heard any sound from the agent on the stairs. He eased back and waited. If he advanced now he might miss it. As he waited the door swung fully back and shut with a positive sound, followed by the click as the lock engaged. Still he didn't move and was rewarded, there was a faint noise that took him a few seconds to recognise as the castors on an office chair. A slight sound of flesh impacting on metal followed and he relaxed. There was the faint sound of a male voice. His patience had paid off, he wasn't going to miss his chance after all.

Tony now moved, adjusting his position so he could cover the agent's most likely path. A slow smile crossed his face as he saw the very top of a dark head of hair move past the next row over. The hunt was on. The soft soled shoes he favoured made no sound on the floor as he followed. Grudgingly he had to allow the agent some credit, he was making barely any noise as he started moving in what could only be a search pattern. Tony only actually glimpsed his quarry a couple of times as they moved across the floor but he took in the details of the bullet-proof vest and weapon held openly. His estimation of the agent rose, the man's dress shoes were not designed for silence but he was managing it.

This was going to be a little more challenging, exactly what he preferred. He was going to enjoy this, drawing the hunt out as long as possible as he reduced the distance between them. If the scenario had been a little different he would have holstered his gun for his knife but regretfully he had to stick with the gun, the longer range lethalness of a firearm might turn out to be necessary. The agent's escape from his two companions suggested that the man had some skill.

His hypersensitive hearing detected the faint sound movement behind him, he turned back quickly to see the stairwell door close, this time there was no bang as it was eased into place, just the faint click of the lock. He doubted the agent would have heard the sound as it was softened into almost non-existence by the distance. Kurt and Damian were back and would be starting their own hunt. Tony returned his attention to his quarry, moving to the next cubicle.

Running the agent's movement through the map in his memory and confirmed by the helpful signs hanging from the ceiling his frustration started to return. If he continued on this path he would reach the office where their contact and Matt were waiting. Matt would get to be the one taking on the agent. That would not do. He started to close up the gap, taking the almost reckless risk to pass across the corridor only a few yards directly behind the agent as the other man reached a corner. Regaining the shelter of a partition Tony froze, listening for signs that he'd been noticed. There was only total silence.

Moving just his fingers Tony pulled a pen shaped object from his top pocket. He extended the handle and eased the flattened, circular top out from behind his shelter at floor level. Twisting the handle adjusted the angle of the small mirror until he could see in the correct direction. He'd not been detected, the agent had stopped his advance, crouching at the corner. The cocked head suggested he was listening. Tony waited a moment longer but the agent showed no signs of moving, the faint voices that he could also hear explained that. Now was his chance.

Easing out of his place of concealment he controlled his breathing as he moved forward, one gently placed foot at a time. This close to a target any mistake, any tiny sound could spell disaster. Tony kept his silenced 9mm up, aimed unwaveringly at the back of the agent's skull. At the first sign of movement he would pull the trigger, but he expected to get a lot closer first. Over the years he had honed this particular skill to a razors edge, no one was quieter than he was. An observer would have seen no emotion on his face but there was nothing sweeter than these last few moments as he closed in, his target unaware. The kill was exponentially more satisfying the closer he got, the splash of warm living blood against his skin had no equal.

As distance steadily decreased and his pleasure rose an unwelcome thought insinuated itself into his mind and he had to reconsider. The shots before indicated the Kurt had tried to kill the agent, the assumption he was currently working under. Perhaps that had indeed been the best option, take the man out before he could discover them. That was no longer the case, the agent now knew where they were and had taken steps to diminish their numbers by locking Kurt and Damian into the stairwell, a strategy the man was unaware had failed. Which led Tony to his unwelcome thought, perhaps killing him may not be necessary any more, perhaps taking him alive may actually be to their better advantage. He had to put aside his own desires and give Kurt the choice.

Closing the final few feet he pushed his gun forward.

.


	7. Chapter 7

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

_**A/N:** Sorry folks for the delay on this chapter, FF's document loader was down and I couldn't add this chapter before now. The next chapter will be up later today, my time, as per usual.  
_

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

-100-1111-1110-

Don had cleared the Fraud section and was in the Cyber Crime area. He was torn, the supervisor's office where the tech should be holed up was not too far away. _Should he really pass him by and continue on to clear the other two sections before coming back for him? Was he actually increasing the risk to the civilian by not taking him sooner? Or would he increase the risk by not clearing the whole floor?_ The issue was still unresolved as he cleared another cubicle and moved that little bit closer. Perhaps he would at least check on the man before deciding what to do next. He didn't see the dark shape that moved across behind him.

Unaware that he was being tracked Don slowed his approach as he neared the supervisor's office. He didn't want to startle the tech nor did he want to lead an intruder to him. Although, as time passed after locking the two intruders into the stairwell it was looking less like there were any more. Regardless he stopped at a junction to listen carefully to his surroundings. Unexpectedly there was a quiet voice, his first thought was that the tech was on the phone as the sound came from the direction of the supervisor's office. He shook his head, the tech had been told he was in danger, he should be keeping silent. A second voice then joined the first and his assessment changed, either the tech had been taken which seemed likely given the location or there were in fact two more intruders. Holding his crouch he peered around the corner trying to listen to the conversation but it was almost too faint. He concentrated, any intel he could gather would only help. He needed to know the situation in that office; if an intruder had the tech he would try to mount a rescue. If it were two intruders that meant the civilian was most likely dead and he would have to decide whether to take them down or not. Leaving them meant leaving hostiles loose behind him, not a tactically sound option.

Don didn't hear the movement behind him until too late. The sudden touch of something hard against the back of his head was the first indication he had that someone was behind him. Completely startled he flinched but clamped down on the automatic reaction, freezing in place. His unseen assailant was in complete control, his gun resting on the back of the agent's head. Uselessly his own weapon was pointed down the corridor where he had been concentrating too much of his attention. As it stood, he didn't have a chance. _What a rookie mistake_, he berated himself.

It had been drilled into him at the academy and through years of experience to always check behind, never focus on one thing to the exclusion of all else. The intruder had got the drop on him, it was supposed to be the other way round but his carelessness had led to this inevitable situation.

"Hands." The man behind him ordered, the voice calm and surprisingly soft.

_Perhaps he did in fact have a chance after all._ Don shifted carefully and slowly raised his right hand, still holding his Glock, to shoulder height. His injured left arm he held against his body as if the wound were more serious than it actually was. The blood smeared down his arm should help with the illusion.

It was a risky move, obeying the order. An offender held at gunpoint by an agent knew that he would keep his life if he abided by demands. An agent held at gunpoint by an offender however, had no such guarantee. It was a well known fact, backed up by years of research, that such an imperilled agent was far more likely to be killed rather than released even if they completely surrendered. In his particular circumstance, with the gun pressing so close it was clear that he would be killed if he showed any resistance, by obeying the order he might just gain some time. With that hope in mind Don started using each precious moment he gained to learn as much as he could about the still unseen man behind him and plan for a way to turn the odds back to his favour.

The gun pressing against the back of his head shifted slightly and he realised why a moment later. A black leather glove appeared in his periphery, it was a shooter's glove, the forefinger left bare. The hand reached for his Glock, fingers closing over the barrel. His attacker had been swapping his gun to his left hand, leaving his right available to take away the weapon. The move also meant that the man was keeping himself squarely behind him, avoiding a classic mistake of twisting off balance to disarm his opponent. The man's reaction time with his left hand may or may not be reduced but by holding his weapon at point blank range it hardly mattered.

"Give." The man ordered as he tugged at the weapon.

The agent resisted for a few seconds, he didn't want the man to become suspicious at too easy a victory. If truth be known he also didn't want to hand the weapon over but there was no alternative for now, the gun behind him made sure of that. Don may have seemed to be in a hopeless position but holding his injured arm tightly to his body had given him an opening. His left hand was already wrapped around the butt of the spare weapon holstered against his chest. He started working at the release as his primary Glock was finally taken from his fingers.

Don heard a thud and recognised the sound of a magazine hitting the floor. Sure enough the next noise was the distinctive sound of a Glock being racked, the chambered round was being forced out of the weapon as the slide was pushed back. Normally it was a two handed operation but easy enough with one hand as evidenced by the continual pressure of the gun at the back of his head. The ejected round bounced off the wall and rolled away. Next there was a heavy clatter that could only be the unloaded weapon being tossed somewhere further behind them.

"Who are you?" Don demanded. Whether the question was answered or not didn't matter, it would serve as a distraction. With his thumb he was carefully teasing the release and needed the sound of his voice to cover the tearing noise the Velcro made as it pulled apart. He didn't wait but followed the question with a second as the Velcro finally parted. "What do you want?"

"None of your business." The voice was still quiet but had hardened.

"I think it is my business." The agent insisted even though the man's tone indicated he wasn't going to play along. He tugged slightly, loosening his backup weapon and firming his grip on the butt. "This is my building."

"Shut up."

Don pursed his lips. The man had all the hallmarks of being a professional. The stealthy approach, the way he'd disarmed Don and the man's calmness at holding a federal agent at gunpoint, on his own turf no less, were all solid indications to back that theory up. That reduced his options, as the man's likely paths of action were extremely limited at this point. On the flipside the man's professionalism could actually work in Don's favour as he could predict those likely courses of action and plan for one of them. The other there was nothing he could do about. He twisted his wrist so no movement would show from behind and finally drew the second Glock fully out of the holster. He was about as ready as he could get. Abruptly the pressure from the gun at his head disappeared. Now, when it didn't matter quite as much, he could faintly hear the man shift behind him as he backed away slightly. He remained frozen in place waiting for the man's next move.

"Up."

That was the scenario Don had hoped for. The other, summary execution, would not have worked as well for him. The man wanted him to stand and had moved away to give himself a bit of reaction time allowing for the possibility of a physical attack now that he'd given his prisoner the order to move.

There was no time for the physical reaction his body wanted to make in relief as he got to live a little longer. Keeping his movement slow and his right hand up and clearly visible in surrender Don rose to his feet. Tilting his head down ever so slightly and allowing his shoulders to droop a touch to complete the picture he waited. He had to avoid tensing his muscles as it would give him away. With his senses heightened by the danger he could hear the man's breathing and was able to fix his relative location.

"Turn."

Exactly the order Don wanted. He exploded into action, spinning rapidly to the right to bring his left hand quickly into range. His gun hand extended as he moved to line up squarely on the man a moment later. He barely registered any details, just adjusted his aim for the man's head as he could not risk the chance that he was wearing a ballistic vest.

They both fired at almost the same instant.

-1011-10101-10010-10100-

At the sound of the shot Kurt just knew that something was wrong. It could have been Matt dealing with their problem but he didn't think so, the Desert Eagle that Matt preferred was much louder. Tony's gun was fitted with a suppressor so it wasn't him and he knew that Simon wasn't armed. That left just the one alternative, the agent was firing on either Matt or Tony. Tony he didn't think was so likely, Matt unfortunately was much more probable. He ruled out their contact, the agent would have no reason to fire on someone he would consider a friendly. Either way, they had to move now. He pushed at the shoulder in front of him. "Go!"

Damian moved, running towards the direction of the shot. Kurt followed close behind. They were close enough that they heard other sounds now, scrapes and what was clearly a gun being reloaded. Running footsteps were coming from the direction of the supervisor's office where Matt had been sent earlier. Unbelievably that meant the agent hadn't been firing on Matt which only left Tony. Another set of running footsteps took off on a tangent. That clinched it, the agent had survived round two. Hopefully Tony would have been able to at least wing him, the more injuries the agent had the slower he would be.

Kurt abruptly changed direction, trying to cut the fleeing man off. The agent certainly hadn't been slowed yet. He still hadn't caught a glimpse of him but the rapid footfalls continued at least one row over and not all that far ahead. Kurt was closing in when abruptly they stopped. Skidding to a halt he sidestepped away into the next row, seeking concealment and held his breath, perhaps the agent was trying to turn the tables. There was nothing. Despite his excellent fitness he had to start breathing again, taking air in as quietly as he could. He moved, intended to creep past the agent's likely position and swing back around from behind where he should least expect it.

The sudden swearing that came from behind him took away any advantage that he might have had, he wouldn't now be able to hear the agent before he stumbled on him. The swearing would also likely drive the agent deeper into concealment. There was nothing for it but to back off for the moment. Keeping his own swearing under his breath so he wouldn't give away his own position Kurt carefully moved off, heading back to join his men. Once they'd patched Tony up they would be able to regroup and find the damned agent who was proving to be very slippery.

That plan lasted until he rounded the corner and found the reason for the swearing. Tony's body lay sprawled motionless on the floor with Matt and Damian standing over it. Kurt moved forward for a closer look even as he had a fair idea what he was going to find, bodies didn't lay quite like that while they still lived. Sure enough, there was no amount of patching up that could fix the hole in Tony's forehead. Kurt couldn't believe it, the position of the bullet wound suggested that Tony had come face to face with the agent, something he knew the hunter avoided at all costs unless he had complete control over the situation.

Bending he took the 9mm from Tony's lax hand and checked the magazine, counting the rounds remaining. If he took away the two fired at the security guard his count revealed another round was missing.

"Any more blood?" Kurt demanded to get his men to move, they were still just standing around. Whilst he didn't think that any of them would have ever claimed Tony as a friend, they had all worked with him on several jobs and the fact that he was now dead was a shock. "Tony got one off."

"Here!" Matt reported a moment later. He pointed at a faint spray of blood on the wall.

Looking down they saw a series of drops on the floor. The drops showed a trail from the spray on the wall, to Tony's body and then down the way Kurt had come. But only for a few metres, the agent must have covered the wound. Unfortunately there also wasn't really all that much, the injury was clearly not severe.

This time his swearing was not under his breath. Quickly getting himself back under control he knew he needed to give this a few moments thought. He pointed at Matt. "You, give me a hand here. Damian, keep the exits under surveillance, if he tries for one take him down. If not, wait for me."

"What are you doing?"

Kurt waved Matt forward as he took a hold of one of Tony's wrists. "I'm going to find out who he is and how he is getting around the locks. Then we're going to deal with him."

.


	8. Chapter 8

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

-100-1111-1110-

Just as he felt the sudden sting to his left ear he saw his opponent go down. Seeing the spurt of blood he knew he didn't need a second shot. Don moved quickly, stepping over the dead man and recovering his Glock and magazine. There was no time to look over the body as he wanted, there were footsteps coming at him from two different directions. He saw the drops of blood as he picked up the Glock and slammed the magazine back home, flicking the slide lock to close the slide. The blood reminded him of the stinging pain at his ear. Again covering a bleeding wound he ran, his back protesting the low crouch he had to maintain in order to use the partitions as concealment. Listening intently as he moved, it would not do to run towards an intruder, he discerned that there was now just the one set of running footsteps in pursuit, getting steadily closer.

Don slowed to make his own steps soundless before he stopped a few workspaces later, going to ground had worked before. He moved into a cubicle, his eye distracted by a box of tissues on the desk. Grabbing the box he tucked himself in under the desk and pulled the chair back into place. He heard nothing, his pursuer had also stopped and must now be trying to find him by stealth. Keeping his gun pointed out to the first place he would see an intruder he used his left hand to pull some tissues from the box so he could tend to his bleeding ear. Unlike his arm which had stopped bleeding relatively quickly even if it were a more serious wound, his ear was going to take a while.

He froze briefly at the first sounds of raised voices, at least two men were swearing quite colourfully in the distance. That gave him a count of three, _just how many intruders were there?_ There was no more indication of the one that had chased him and he hoped he might return to see what the commotion raised by the other intruders was all about. Don only knew too well, it was obvious that they had found the body.

He toggled the control on his radio, speaking softly into the microphone. "Control, 3695."

"_3695, go."_

"I've taken one man down. I think there have to be at least three more." He clicked off his radio for a moment as he took a breath and listened hard for any signs that he may have been heard. He could hear the faint sounds of conversation back from the direction of the dead intruder. It was too far to get exactly what they were saying but there was nothing to indicate they had any idea where he was.

"_I've got movement."_ Alexis immediately reported. _"Looks like the two from the stairwell are out and on the floor."_

"How?" Don automatically demanded. Not three more after all, just a new man and the two he'd thought secured in the stairwell. Never mind the how, "Where are they?"

"_I just caught them on the one camera, I've got virtually nothing on that floor now, Agent Eppes."_ Alexis responded, clearly frustrated. _"I don't know."_

"What cameras do you have?" That would help him narrow it down although he had a fair suspicion they were back over with the body.

"_Stairwell two entry and looks like three across the floor, none overlapping. I caught them on the one I have in Cyber Crime."_

"Where's that back-up?" Surely someone should have been here by now, the on-call agents were supposed to be able to respond to a situation anywhere in the city in a hurry. LAPD's response should have been even quicker and at this point he'd be happy to let them have free run of the building to even up the odds.

"_Outside. We're having trouble with the locks, we can't get them in."_

Now he regretted the lock-down order. If he'd left the normal security level in place the agents outside would have simply swiped their cards over the locks and be flooding in to help. That would also have given the intruders an easy escape route but suddenly that didn't sound so important right now. He'd trapped himself and the civilians.

"Tell the techs to forget the cameras. Get those doors unlocked, I need that back-up!"

He was in serious trouble now, three known intruders loose on the floor and one unprotected tech. Twice now he'd been detected before he'd known he'd been spotted, twice he'd managed to escape. A third time would be pushing even his luck too far. He was back to his earlier quandary, leave the tech and move up to four to secure the other three civilians or stay and try to take out the intruders single-handedly.

"_Already working on it."_

"3695, out."

Whatever he was going to do he needed to try to make some visual observations of the intruders and develop a proper assessment of them. All he'd managed was a quick glance over the one he'd killed. That had been enough to show that along with the professional demeanour the man was well equipped. He was outnumbered, they were armed and not afraid to use their weapons on a federal agent. Sighing there really wasn't any choice, he was couldn't leave the unarmed tech to fend for himself. Assuming of course the tech was still alive and still free. Perhaps he would have to find himself a secure position that he could base himself from before drawing them out in a way that could allow him to pick them off one by one. Easier said than done, all the concealment opportunities that the office layout provided him also aided the intruders.

He wasn't Charlie but he could do the math, there was the far greater likelihood that they would find him first.

-1011-10101-10010-10100-

They dragged Tony's body into the room with them. His old friend from school, their contact, was sitting at the computer as expected. Simon looked up at the sound of their entry and the blood drained from his face. Kurt guessed it was the first dead body his friend had seen. Simon opened his mouth.

"Shut up." Kurt was not in any mood to answer questions at the moment, not when he had some he needed answered. He reached into a pocket and pulled out the agent's cell phone. He'd seen the man drop it after he'd shot him and had scooped it up on the run as he'd gone after the fleeing agent. Flipping it open he started hunting through the menus, finding the number of the last received call. The name 'Charlie' appeared beneath it.

"Here." He handed the phone to their contact.

"What's this?"

Kurt gave the supposed genius a withering stare at the stupid question. He really wasn't in the mood. "The cell that the agent dropped."

"What agent?" Simon suddenly remembered that whilst he'd earlier supposed it was the security guard searching the floors, Matt had mentioned something about an agent.

Kurt waved at the body. "The one that did that. Can you tell who it belongs to?"

Simon tore his gaze away from the body that had simply been dumped just inside the door and looked the cell phone over, the make and model were familiar. "This is standard FBI issue." He pressed a few controls and the IMEI number appeared on the screen. He opened a new window on the computer console inwardly cursing at further interruption to his work and entered the numbers. A second later the information appeared. "Special Agent Donald Eppes, registered number 3695. Don Eppes, are you sure it was him?"

Kurt frowned at the worry in the computer technician's voice. "It's his phone isn't it?"

A few more commands were entered and a series of mouse clicks followed to reveal a thumbnail image. A double-click and the image expanded into a mugshot of a dark haired man with intense dark eyes staring accusing at them from the screen.

"That's him." Kurt confirmed. "He anyone special?"

"You could say that. Some consider him the best agent in LA. He's the supervisor of the Violent Crimes section and has time to run a team of his own. From what I've heard, not a man to cross."

"Well, neither am I." Kurt stated warningly. He suspected that his old school friend was thinking of pulling out, even though it had been his idea to start with. Their friendship did not extend that deeply from his perspective. Since learning of Simon's choice of employer he'd carefully cultivated the friendship for purely professional reasons. It had paid off, just not in the way he'd expected.

"We have to pack it up and get out of here with what we've got."

"No. We are not going to leave until we got all we came for. We've killed and Tony has died for this."

"What?" Simon looked back up from the computer. "Killed? Who was killed?"

Ah yes, they had neglected to tell Simon about the security guard. Kurt remedied that.

"That's why the alert." Simon took the news surprisingly well but then it was not as immediate as the body lying a few feet away.

"Exactly." Kurt's thoughts returned to the agent that had raised the alarm further souring their plans. That it had taken this long for him to reach the third floor showed that the agent was indeed very cautious, clearing ground behind him as he progressed. Kurt respected that, it showed professionalism. It also made the agent more dangerous, a glance down at the body at his feet more than demonstrated that. Taking out Tony was something that Kurt doubted even he could have achieved. The agent was a serious threat to be dealt with. Positive action would be required, something he knew how to do, he just had to come up with a strategy to suit the occasion. "How much longer to get what we need?"

Simon changed to another screen which showed a status report. "We've got just over two thirds of the projected data so far. Data mining takes time. We could stop now, we have quite a bit."

"No." Kurt repeated, not happy at the progress report. If they were going to take the lot they needed to remain in place for a little longer yet. He wasn't going to settle for less. "Keep going. But the longer that fed's out there the more likely he will be able to put a wrench in the works. How's he able to move around all the locks? Passcard or something?"

"Passcards are overridden. Control have been buzzing him through just like I've been."

"Can't you stop them from doing that?"

"Of course I can but we need access to those doors. If I lock the system up it will be next to impossible for us to get through." Having to dig through layers of protection and enter a password every time they needed a door opened was simply unworkable.

Kurt nodded, that made sense. A thought occurred, he'd recovered the agent's phone before he'd opened the stairwell door. Unaware of the agent's radio Kurt came to the most logical conclusion, the agent was under surveillance. "I thought you stuffed the cameras up."

"I have but the virus is progressive and semi-random, some will be functioning correctly."

"The alley?" Kurt really didn't want the murder of the guard to have been recorded and stored on disc somewhere. That sort of evidence could ensure conviction and lethal injection.

"No." Simon shook his head and opened another screen. The dangerous tone in Kurt's voice suggested that more than his word was necessary on this point. He clicked his mouse a few times and expanded the 'current' view of the alley showing all clear and empty. It was the only entrance that showed no activity. "I disabled the specific cameras you asked for first, including their recording functions. Just as with this one here." He pointed at the nearest overhead unit that covered their section of the third floor. He clicked the mouse again and a screen full of hash appeared. He had set the virus to attack the other cameras semi-randomly with a bias towards the third floor and its 'faulty' terminal. His intention had been that this whole matter would blow over as a malfunction rather than an attack, the theft of data remaining hidden. That had been assuming that they weren't discovered which was well and truly blown now.

Kurt grunted in acceptance. Alternate plans had started running through his head. "The agent was on the phone to someone saying that he'd called in for reinforcements. They here yet?"

"Yes, that was what I was about to tell you." Exterior views flashed up on the monitor as Simon accessed the real feeds from the cameras. This time there was definite activity in the alley, a cluster of LAPD uniforms standing around, flashing red and blue lights reflecting off the damp surfaces. Other views showed uniforms standing by various possible exits. Vehicles were arriving as they watched, including some more black sedans and SUVs. They were trapped.

It wasn't supposed to have happened this way, it should have been a simple in-and-out operation with no one any the wiser. They'd discussed what to do if discovered, essentially what they'd done with the guard. Kill the witness, hoping like hell it wouldn't be an agent, stash the body so it wouldn't be discovered, get the data and get out. The guard had come along right at the start, unfortunate for him but they thought they'd eliminated that threat. _Damn this agent. _How he'd stumbled on the body so quickly Kurt had no idea but it was too late for that now. Now, more than ever he was determined to see it through which meant new plans as it was a whole new ballgame. He'd put some contingency plans on standby, it looked like he may have to activate one of them.

"Can they get in?"

"No." Simon checked a separate window on his desktop. "I've been able to block Control's commands to those entries. They're on a different system to the internal doors."

Kurt picked up the agent's cell and scrolled back to the last call. He showed the screen to the tech. "Who's this?"

"Charlie. That's Agent Eppes' brother." He knew the professor far better than his legend of a brother.

"What's his address?"

Simon clicked back onto the window still showing Eppes staring out at them. He scrolled down to the next of kin details. _Charles Eppes, brother, 874 Hunter Street, Pasadena, Los Angeles, 90021_.

"Are they close?"

"Seem to be. You going to go after him?" He wasn't sure how that sat with him. The agent was one thing, it was a risk that went with his job, but Simon kind of liked the math professor. They'd worked together from time to time. In fact it was a variation of one of the professor's data mining algorithms that he was using at the moment. Professor Eppes was truly brilliant.

Kurt was reading the next of kin listed above the brother, _Alan Eppes, father, _with the same listed address. He fiddled with the phonebook in the cell until he found the numbers listed for him. "No, but it won't hurt if he thinks we will." He disabled the ringer and vibrator before closing the phone and putting it away into a pocket. "Simon, tell Matt what he needs to do when the download is finished." The plan had taken shape.

Simon checked the status; they were now at sixty-nine percent of the data his calculations suggested they should be able to retrieve with Professor Eppes' modified program. As he watched it clicked over to seventy. "He just has to pull each flash drive out when prompted on this screen. Put the next one in and it will continue automatically. What-?"

"I need you to come with us. We have to work on a way to get out of here. But before we can do that we have to curb this agent's movements and there is only one way I can think of to do that. He's also too dangerous to take on directly, so we're going to need leverage." Kurt explained. He had decided with the major change in circumstances he now had to take the agent alive if possible. The man could be useful but only once under control. "This is what I need you to do first."

Simon listened to the instructions and typed the appropriate commands into the system. It was something out of a movie but there was no reason it shouldn't work. Whilst waiting a few minutes for sufficient material he shut down external phone access into or from the building at Kurt's request, the less information that went out the better. He then gave Matt a quick rundown on how to unlock the doors they would need on the system. It was simple and he repeated the instructions until he was sure that Matt understood, having him practice on a few doors picked at random throughout the building. Simon was surprised at how quickly the lump of muscle learnt what he needed. Unfortunately the most important door would require something else but Simon had the feeling that Kurt had solved that problem. The computer finally beeped indicating that the first program was ready. He clicked the final button and showed Kurt the results.

Kurt issued some further instructions to Matt. He was going to be busy monitoring the download, unlocking the doors they needed and making forays out onto the floor from time to time to keep the agent pinned down and prevent him from escaping to another floor. He pulled Tony's 9mm from his belt and unscrewed the suppressor. He handed the weapon to Simon, safety still engaged. "You know how to use this?"

Simon nodded. When he'd first come to work for the FBI he'd taken himself to the gun range near home to learn a little about guns. It had seemed a logical thing to do. With the gun in his hand his confidence returned. Things would work out, this was what Kurt was here for in the first place.

"Good. Let's move." Kurt ordered, leading the way.

.


	9. Chapter 9

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER NINE**

-100-1111-1110-

Hearing movement Don ducked into the nearest place of concealment, the Fraud Supervisor's office. Trying to catch a glimpse of the intruders he was rewarded with a brief moment where he saw a black clad figure move past. There was at least one other by the sounds of things but he must have been keeping lower as he remained out of sight. The glimpse was not enough to give him much more than he already had, the man's attire was the same as the one he'd killed. He could determine their probable destination, the stairwell door. He saw the top of the door swing open, then close behind the men. It confirmed what he already knew; they had found a way around the locks.

The obvious conclusion was that the intruders had taken the tech, it was the only thing that made sense. That meant that the tech was still near a computer terminal, most likely where he'd been since the alert, in the Cyber Crime Supervisor's office. The irony was not lost on him.

"Control, 3695."

"_Control."_

"Two intruders have left the floor. Track them."

"_We'll try."_

"3695 out."

He shifted as he waited a little longer trying to hear if there was any more movement on the floor. He would have to try to get to the tech and rescue him. It was the only way to finally trap the intruders. From what he'd been able to tell so far there should only be the one man remaining with the tech. Those odds were workable. Moving out he cautiously made his way back across the floor.

-10100-101-11-1000-10011-

The sudden knock on the computer lab door gave the three techs a collective heart attack. All three heads snapped up from their focus on the screens to stare at the door and through the glass window in its upper half at Simon in shock.

"What are you doing here?" Angela demanded, the first among them to recover. She rose from her desk. Going quickly to the door, she unlocked and pulled it open. She stepped back to let her supervisor in. "We're on lockdown, there are armed men out there."

The smug look on Simon's face was just as unexpected as his appearance had been. He stepped inside as two black shapes rose up from behind partitions a few metres away. The two armed men casually moved forward, following Simon into the lab. Angela's first thought was that they had taken her boss hostage and she looked back at him in concern worried that they may have hurt him.

"Ange, I think you should get back over here." Sandy said slowly. He'd backed away as far as he could from the door, Anton beside him.

After another glance at the smug look Angela had to agree, this was very wrong. A glance downwards revealed by how much, Simon had just lifted his right hand and she now saw he was holding a gun. She started backing up, mirroring her workmates, raising her hands in response to the three guns pointed their way.

"S-Simon?"

"You never suspected a thing did you?"

"No. I," Angela stopped that line of thought. "What are you doing?"

"Making lots of money so I don't have to work ever again."

"Money? You're doing this for money?" Angela asked even as she was unsure exactly what 'this' was. She was astounded. Simon had never seemed the type to be worried about money. His pay was quite healthy, in keeping with his responsibilities, more than enough to be comfortable if his collection of gadgets was anything to go by. He had always seemed to be far more interested in the work than the money.

"Of course. You didn't think I was going to work with you lot forever did you?"

The contemptuous tone in his voice set Angela back another pace, her back bumping up against one of Sandy's hands. This was a Simon she didn't know. She had nothing to say in answer to that so after a glance at her similarly shocked co-workers she moved on. "W-what do you want with us?"

"I don't want anything." Simon answered. He nodded at the man to his left. "But he does. You better do as he says."

Another shared glance amongst the three computer techs and it was obvious that they were going to do exactly what they were told. Their world involved computers, not guns. The closest any of them had come was sharing an elevator with armed agents or passing them out on the floor. All their training had revolved around staying well clear if anything ever went wrong. Having been there longer than Sandy or Anton, Angela remembered the Code Black alarm that had sounded a couple of years ago so she was well aware that things could go wrong in a big way. All three of them though knew what they were to do in the event that someone other than an agent had the upper hand. Obey.

The man Simon had indicated lifted his gun slightly before waving it towards the door. "Follow him. Move."

The other man was already back out on the floor, waiting for them. The three techs slowly moved, keeping as far from the guns as they could. Simon was the last out of the lab, turning the latch before pulling the door to, locking it behind them.

-1-1100-101-11000-1001-10011-

"_ADIC to Control. Report."_

Alexis stared at the external camera that showed a group of agents clustered around the main entry. The camera range extended far enough that she could see a number of black sedans and LAPD cruisers. A man was standing beside one of the sedans, the ADIC, right hand raised towards his mouth. The camera resolution didn't quite allow her to see the radio handset that was in his grip, their only comms other than personal cells now that the phone system had crashed.

"Sir, we've got the techs working on it." He wasn't calling about their failed phone system, all their efforts were directed towards gaining entry.

"_Tell them to work harder. What about Eppes?"_

"Nil contact since his last." Alexis had passed on the information that Agent Eppes had taken down one of the intruders and his later report that two others were moving around the building at will. He would not be monitoring their current communication as they were on a different frequency. She added reluctantly, "Do you want me to call him?"

"_No. He can't be distracted."_ Wright ordered to her relief. _"When he calls in get him to swap to this channel."_

"Will do." The agent's radio was preset to all the standard frequencies as well as his team's tactical channel whereas the radios in the vehicles were only set to standard frequencies. Agent Eppes had automatically used his normal radio setting, the tactical channel. Alexis knew she should have thought of it sooner and made the suggestion to him earlier to allow direct communication with the ADIC. With everything going on she'd missed it, the downside of being able to send and receive on all frequencies automatically controlled by the computers.

The camera resolution was clear enough to show the ADIC's arm moving in what could only be his tossing the radio microphone back into the car. He moved away and started pacing in clear frustration as he waited for their more desperate measures to arrive. There was nothing else they could do.

Alexis automatically looked up at the monitor showing the hall outside at the sound of the chime. She was more than a little startled to see one of the techs hunched over and leaning against the wall. Alexis glanced at the other monitor and saw that the other three techs were still in their computer lab. That meant it had to be Simon. Alexis cautiously went to the door and peered through the peephole, at this stage she wasn't prepared to take the camera's image as gospel. The man's head lifted as he looked towards the camera mounted above the door.

It was Simon. That explained how he could even be there, he'd gotten himself around the doors using his override access. He'd been on the third floor where Agent Eppes had just been involved in gun battles, the sounds of the shots, though faint had carried to them in Control. Simon's appearance was unexpected but understandable, he'd bugged out.

Due to the alert ordered by the agent and the two intruders whose location they hadn't been able to track she wasn't going to simply buzz the door, despite the fact that she could confirm the identity of the man in the hall outside the door. Under lockdown their door was to remain closed against all comers. She was to relax that only on Agent Eppes' direct orders to let him in when he turned up with the computer techs but there was no sign of him here so she needed to be careful. She went back to her desk and hit the button on the intercom to open the channel. "Yes?"

"Alexis, it's me." Simon's voice sounded strained and urgent. "Let me in."

"What are you doing here?"

He looked up at the camera lens and Alexis saw that his hands were clamped around his midriff. He glanced back down the corridor and then back up at the camera. "I've been shot. I – I think they're after me. Let me in, quick!"

"Where are they?"

"I don't know. They were on three but I think they came after me." Simon once again glanced back down the corridor. "I think I lost them."

Alexis turned to Mark. "Anything?"

"As best I can tell, no." Mark had been scanning the halls around their position. No sign of anyone.

The senior operator hesitated. She knew Simon and could see that he was hurt. Her concern for him warred with the need to remain secured. The cameras were not to be trusted but she had seen the hall directly outside the door through the peephole and it was clear aside from Simon. She was now able to confirm that the camera feed was real as it matched what she'd seen for herself. She couldn't leave him out there alone and wounded.

Mark had stood and was now next to her. "I can grab him. It won't take long to get him in."

Alexis chewed her lip for a moment longer but she'd already made her decision. "Get ready to get him in."

Mark went to the door and quickly pulled it open as Alexis buzzed the lock. Simon collapsed into Mark's arms, the sudden weight causing Mark to fall to the floor with Simon on top of him. Alexis moved forward to help disentangle the men so she could get the door closed as quickly as possible.

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and Alexis looked up. A man was running down the hall towards them. He was already only a few steps away and had a gun out. One of the intruders.

"Don't move if you want to live." The man ordered.

Alexis raised her hands in response to the weapon pointed at her head. She'd been around law enforcement and guns for most of her life but this was the first time one had been pointed at her. It was an experience she would have happily avoided.

The intruder moved in to prevent the door closing as Mark finally managed to disentangle himself from Simon. They scrambled back out of the intruder's path, Mark helping the wounded tech. The intruder glanced over at them, keeping his gun aimed at Alexis before turning his head back out the door. "Bring them in."

Alexis watched as the three techs that, yes her monitor still showed safe in their lab, were herded at gunpoint by a second intruder down the hall and into Control. She saw the strange looks that passed from the techs to Simon and the way they kept their distance from him but couldn't puzzle it out now.

Once the techs were in and seated on the floor near Mark and Simon the first man's gun jerked up and Alexis backed towards her desk. The man released the door and followed her back, allowing the door to swing closed behind him.

"Lock the door."

"It's automatic." She told him as the door fully closed and they heard the clunk that before had been reassuring but was now ominous, they were locked in. The gun moved again and she stopped next to her desk.

"Who's in charge?"

"I am." She admitted, pleased that years of stressful situations allowed her to speak and think normally.

"I want to see the agent."

"What agent? There isn't one." Alexis tried.

"Special Agent Eppes, the one that killed my man. Third floor, pull it up." His unencumbered hand waved at the main monitor.

For the first time that day she was happy to report, "We're having problems with the cameras."

"I know. Simon?" The man's tone was almost friendly.

Alexis's jaw dropped and she exchanged a shocked look with Mark as Simon, now clearly uninjured, climbed easily to his feet. He went to a spare computer console after flashing her a look that could only best be described as a smirk. Simon logged in then entered a series of commands. All the time the two men ignored him, letting him move about freely. Their weapons remained aimed at her and the techs with Mark. That explained the strange looks he'd gotten from the techs as they'd been moved into Control. He was with the intruders.

"I've removed the program." Simon announced a minute later. "The system will reset then be clear."

As he spoke the monitors flashed white then going dark before they settled back to showing their familiar camera angles. This time they were all live and functioning correctly. Alexis found her attention going first to the alley, to the hive of activity around Steven's body.

"Show me." The intruder reminded her of what he wanted to see.

Touching the appropriate controls she set the main screen to show the section cameras from the third floor. There were more, but they were the main ones. She hoped that Agent Eppes would be staying clear of them. Her heart sank as she saw the agent move from one cubicle to another, look around cautiously then move on again. His location clearly identified by the legend on the bottom of each image. The intruder shifted and she saw him pull a cell phone from his pocket and dial.

Alexis looked back at the monitor, watching helplessly as the agent moved again. Then it suddenly hit her, if the 'program' had been removed and the system reset she should be able to unseal the building's entrances. Even before she'd finished the thought her hand had started to move carefully towards the controls. She would just need a second and then there would be a red light in amongst the green, a single red light that could be overlooked. She would get the much needed back up into the building then worry about getting them around the internal locks.

There was a sudden metallic click and something hard was pressed up against the side of her head. She froze her eyes sliding sideways to see that the man was not as distracted as she'd hoped.

"You touch only what I tell you to." The gun pressed harder. "Understand?"

"Yes." She swallowed and the gun was lowered as she pulled back her suddenly shaking hand.

The man turned his attention back to his phone. "It's Kurt. I'm coming back down to you. Is it finished yet? … Good. The agent is in the Fraud section, watch for him but do nothing until I get there. Simon'll get the doors."

Alexis looked over at the terminal Simon was using to recognise the override panel open on his screen. He saw where she was looking and smiled. Alexis had never been a violent person but here now was someone she wanted to do violence to. The intruders were about to hunt down Agent Eppes using the building's systems against him, helped by someone that should have been on his side.

She had to warn him. Her hand moved forward again, quickly this time as there was going to be more than a simple light showing what she was doing. She activated the radio link and opened her mouth to speak into the microphone of her headset. There was no click this time, just the cold barrel of the gun pressing up against the side of head once again. She froze in place again as her headset was gently pulled away.

"Turn it off."

She touched the control and her headset shut down. The gun stayed in place this time, pushing hard enough that she took a step, then another as Kurt maintained the pressure, forcing her away from her desk.

"Radio?" Kurt queried at another shove of his gun. "Who else is on the link?"

Mark spoke up, concerned for Alexis. "Agent Eppes is on his own channel."

"What about them outside?"

"Different channel."

"Simon, can you shut it down?"

The technician worked at his console. "Done. Repeater's dead. I can't stop them using direct mode though."

"I know that." Kurt snapped. "It'll do for now."

The gun moved from the side of her head to her shoulder and pushed. Alexis sat, joining Mark and the three techs on the floor.

"Damian, watch them. If she tries anything else, shoot her."

Staring upwards into the barrel of Kurt's gun Alexis could only swallow. After a long moment the intruder moved away and headed out the door. She'd done the best she could, Agent Eppes was on his own.

.


	10. Chapter 10

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER TEN**

-100-1111-1110-

Don's path took him back through the Fraud section. He wasn't going to approach the Cyber Crime Supervisor's office by the most direct route, this was about as sideways an approach as he could manage. He'd worked his way across in a pattern that to an outsider may have seemed almost random but was in fact designed to cover as much of the floor as he could as he worked towards his goal. He'd had far too many surprises already this night, he had to be sure there were no more intruders lurking behind him before he made his move. He was as sure as he could be that Theft and Corporate Crime were clear.

He advanced again, now entering Cyber Crime. He went even slower now, needing to get the drop on the intruder holding the tech or all would be lost.

"Hey, Fed!"

Don froze at the sound of the taunting voice. He searched anxiously around but there was no sign of the man. _Had he been spotted?_ He started off, changing his course, backtracking and angling to come around a different way. His element of surprise was seemingly gone. Now he would just have to try for a visual on his opponent and come up with another plan.

There was the loud sound of a door opening from back in the direction of one of the stairwells. At least one intruder was coming back and now making no effort to conceal himself. That was bad. With one intruder seemingly knowing where the agent was and the other moving about openly something had obviously happened to greatly increase their confidence. The senior tech as their hostage could explain that but the one that had called out to him minutes before had not made any threats or demands on that basis.

Don backed off, heading off at an angle that took him away from both intruders; he needed to go to ground again. Reluctantly another thought struck him and he had to give it serious consideration. The tech was taken and there had been nothing but danger for him on this floor. It was time to give it up and move on, he should go up and secure the other three techs and come back here once the intruders had given up hunting him. It was the best option. With silent apologies to the tech he turned and made for the stairwell opposite the one the intruder had just used.

"Control, 3695." He called, his voice barely above a whisper. He wanted to give them a heads up so they could be ready on the door to stairwell two in case that camera was now down. He'd moved past two cubicles before the silence had stretched on too long. They were busy but all his previous calls had been answered quickly. "Control, 3695."

"Hey, Fed!" The intruder called again.

Don started, the voice was too close. He'd been followed across the floor. He moved again, ensuring that he made no sound. Returning to a zig-zag route he maintained his track towards the far stairwell. There was a sound and he looked towards it to see one of the intruders walking openly past a cubicle the next row over. Don ducked, the temptation to shoot was strong but it would only give away his position, shooting through the glass top of the partition nearest him would not guarantee an accurate shot. He gave it a moment before heading away.

A minute later and there was another sound that seemed deliberate. He turned to see an intruder staring directly at him. In reflex Don snapped off a shot and ran off on an angle to be blocked by a second man. This time a shot was aimed back at him, shattering the glass beside him. He ducked and scuttled off sideways only to see a shadow on the floor ahead of him, he'd been headed off. Another bullet struck the partition beside him and he dashed off the opposite direction. He was being herded and there was not a damned thing he could do about it. Looking wildly around he got his bearings and saw that he was close to his original goal. He just needed to cross over two rows to get to the hall leading to the door, the layout here a little different from the other exit. Trying to throw in a red herring he headed away from the stairs, testing the intention of the intruders. One popped up behind him, the other appeared to one side blocking the route to the stairs while leaving access to the floor open. Their strategy was now apparent, but back out onto the floor was not the way he wanted to go. He let off a shot causing both to duck then dropped down himself to double back. He made it back to the row before the hall he needed.

"Time to give this up." A voice calmly said from nearby.

Don spun and saw one of the intruders duck back down behind a partition, it was as if they knew exactly where he was. Don aimed carefully at where the man's body should be and fired. The partition was concealment, not effective cover, the round would penetrate and hopefully strike the intruder. He was desperate enough now to try such a shot. A second head appeared as he scrambled to his feet and started off. He was fired at, the round whistling past him and striking the wall to his left. He stumbled as he ducked in reflex, bouncing painfully off the wall. A second round struck the wall beside the first as he tried to turn left to escape the true path he now realised that they'd chosen for him. A third shot forced him to go right for cover and he skidded around the corner only to come to a sudden stop.

The lock on the door to stairwell two glowed a continuous red, he tried the handle anyway but it refused to budge. It was the only exit from the short hallway. He spun and started back, intending to try and go the other way but had to stop as a head appeared around the corner. It was too late, he'd been too slow. Don raised his weapon and snapped off a shot causing the other man to duck back unharmed. It had been the man he'd fired at through the partition, his shot had obviously not found its target. The agent quickly took an appreciation of his surroundings. No cover. No exit. _Not good_.

"Control, 3695!" He tried his radio urgently, not trying to keep his voice down in his desperation. He hoped the sinking feeling in his stomach was wrong. "Stairwell two door, now!"

There was no reply and the door lock maintained a steady red.

"What's your name, Agent?"

"What's yours?" Don fired back hotly, the need for silence well and truly gone. They had cover, he didn't. He was trapped and exposed, all they had to do was fire blindly around the corner and he was sure to go down.

Desperately he cast about for a way out of the short hallway. The stairwell door behind him was a security door, not one that he could shoulder charge or kick open, another departure from fire ordinances. He glanced up at the suspended ceiling but quickly discounted that, the hangers were too lightweight to hold a man, deliberately designed to prevent anyone from hiding up there. He was trapped. If he had been able to go left instead of right after bouncing off the wall he might have escaped his pursuer. The last shot had been carefully placed to drive him the wrong way and he'd reacted the way they'd wanted.

"Come now, that's not very polite. I'm Kurt." The man answered. "Your turn."

"Hmpf." Don snorted. There was no way he was going to reveal his identity. The intruders had to have some access to the FBI system and that meant possible access to the databases. With his name they could look up his next-of-kin details and if they had someone on the outside they would be able to use Charlie or their father against him.

"That's alright, Agent Eppes." The speaker's left hand appeared and touched the wall below a smear of blood, Don's blood. "I see I winged you earlier. How bad is it?"

"Come down here and see." Don challenged, putting up a confident front as he wondered how the man had already learned of his identity.

"I'd rather you put down your weapons and came to me."

"Not gonna happen." He was prepared to go down fighting as that gave him the slightest chance of taking at least one of them with him.

"I'm afraid that it is." Kurt continued confidently. "Some interesting phone numbers in your cell, Agent." The man taunted. He then rattled off a string of numbers.

Don's blood ran cold as he heard Charlie's home number being read out followed by his father's cell. There were other numbers in the phone but the man had chosen those of his family which meant he knew who exactly who they were, they were stored in the phone memory by first name only. That also explained how they knew who he was and confirmed that they did have access to the databases. They'd run his cell and had gone from there. With that much information this Kurt character had to also know where they were and how to get to them. Don looked to the weapon in his hand still aimed at the corner as if it could help. But he had no choice, Kurt's message was received clearly. They'd been trying to take him down since discovering him. The direct approach had failed so now they moved to threaten others to force his surrender. With their past attempts to kill him he figured there was only one likely outcome of his surrender especially after taking one of their men down.

The agent took a deep breath, _if his life had to be forfeit to prevent these goons going after Charlie or his father then so be it_. Opening his mouth he was about to give the man what he wanted before sheer stubbornness forced it shut. Knowing where his family was didn't mean they had the means to make good on their threat. He would need more. The weapon that had started to droop firmed. A hand suddenly appeared around the corner and tossed an object down the hall at him. His mind screamed _grenade!_ as he ducked in what he knew would be a futile effort to escape the blast.

"I think you need to make a phone call." Kurt's voice announced at the same time. There was a plastic clatter as the object hit the floor and slid towards him.

Don hesitated, looking at the device that had stopped a few feet from his position recognising it as his cell phone. He swallowed and asked the question, struggling to keep his voice calm. "Who am I supposed to call?"

"Dial the number on the screen, it will put you through to Control."

He felt a moment of relief, his family was safe. But his relief was short lived, there were others in danger and his family could still easily be threatened. The man's suggestion was verification of what the agent had suspected since his radio calls had gone unanswered and his movements had suddenly been so easily tracked. Somehow Control had been taken. He couldn't help but glance upwards at the camera above the door, wondering now who was looking back.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to surrender, Agent. You will be unharmed if you cooperate."

He doubted that but Don carefully reached out and retrieved his cell phone, eying the unknown cell number waiting on the screen. He wondered why he was to use that and not the number he knew but decided there had to be a reason. He pressed the green button to dial, hoping it did lead to Control. He had to be sure, until then his weapon remained up and ready.

"_Control."_ Alexis' voice was on the surface as calm as ever but he could detect the undertone of tension.

"Status."

"_Compromised, Agent Eppes."_ Alexis replied. Her voice softened. _"I'm sorry."_

"Report."

"_Two armed men in Control holding myself, Mark, Angela, Anton and Sandy at gunpoint."_

Don didn't recognise the last three names but assumed that they were probably the three techs.

"How?" Control was supposed to be secure.

"_They have an inside man, Simon."_

Now it made sense. Alexis' report that there were two armed men in control suggested that the tally of hostiles was still at four even though he'd killed one of the intruders. He recognised the name; Simon was one of the senior techs. No wonder the intruders were able to hack the system, Simon had full access. He was the fourth man, not an intruder but an inside man. Bitterly he realised this was the man he'd been risking his neck to try to save. If he'd gone straight up to four and secured the three techs he wouldn't be in this position now.

"Anyone hurt?"

"_No. We're fine."_

"Alright, just do what they say." He reinforced the standing order for civilians. They had to keep themselves alive.

"_Yes, Agent."_

Don snapped the phone closed and rested his head against the wall for a moment before sliding down to crouch on the floor in defeat. It was done, his decision was made. A deep breath or two was all that remained of his freedom and despite Kurt's promise, quite probably his life. He thought of Charlie and his father and realised that Charlie's last contact with him had been cut off by a gunshot. He could imagine what they were going through right now and regretted the necessarily harsh tone he'd taken with his brother before the shot. _Suck it up, Agent_, he mentally slapped himself, _there is still work to do_. Pressing a different speed dial to the one he really wanted he put the phone to his ear.

"Agent?" Kurt called.

"_Sinclair."_ The number he'd dialled answered at the same time.

"David, I don't have much time." Don started, speaking rapidly keeping his voice as low as he could yet still remain understandable before hesitating trying to find the right word. "I'm about to be … taken. There are four hostiles, they have taken over Control and have hostages. I suspect they are after information from our databases, their inside man is Simon, one of the techs. Tell Charlie and Dad I-"

"Agent, put the phone down." Kurt ordered.

"_Don, we-"_ David started.

"David, get the word to the ADIC." Don interrupted quickly.

"Agent put the phone down now or my men start shooting your people."

"Alright, alright." He called back. He closed the phone and tossed it back down the hall, the quickest way to show he'd complied with the order. He didn't want any of the hostages killed, he'd put them at too much risk already just by making the call. "Leave them alone. I surrender."

Movements quick and methodical he unloaded his weapon. He laid the Glock on the floor as he repeated his actions with his back-up. For a moment he laid his hands over the weapons, reluctant to part with them. To save others he was giving away everything, most painfully his ability to take down those posing the threat.

"Good. Now slide me your guns."

The instruction was expected, Kurt would have heard the sounds and recognised what the agent was doing. There was no more time for hesitation, one after the other he sent the two guns sliding down the hall towards the man's voice.

"Face down on the floor, legs and arms apart. You know the drill."

The agent eased out into the middle of the hall and lay down as directed. The men were definitely professionals and were taking full precautions with him. Perhaps Kurt would keep his word after all. He waited and a few seconds later a head cautiously appeared around the corner above the muzzle of a gun.

"Look away."

Don obediently turned his head and didn't move. It was straight from the manual, the position he'd been told to place himself in made it safer for an agent to approach a dangerous offender. They were using the technique on him. He heard the men approach, knowing without needing to look that they would both have weapons aimed squarely at his head due to the protection offered by his vest. One stopped and placed a firm foot on his lower right arm, pinning it to the floor keeping his weapon aimed downwards. The other unseen man bent and grabbed Don's left arm as he knelt heavily on his back. The arm was then twisted and pulled painfully up to his shoulder blades. He felt the man pull his handcuffs from the pouch on the back of his belt and place one loop around his left wrist. Abruptly the weight lifted from his right arm.

"Give me your arm." The one on kneeling on his back ordered, forcing his other arm up even higher.

Arching his back in pain he did as ordered. The pain eased as in textbook precision he was securely restrained, hands cuffed behind his back. Only then did the two men search him thoroughly, flipping him over onto his back to get to the equipment on his vest tossing everything aside. A knife was produced and the straps to his vest were cut before it too was pulled away leaving him unprotected. Finished, they stood back and looked down the helpless agent who in turned stared steadily upwards.

"You've caused us some trouble." The shorter man said and Don recognised the voice as Kurt's.

"Good."

The corner Kurt's mouth quirked upwards. "I think I like you, Agent Eppes. But don't think I won't shoot you."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

A full grin now appeared on Kurt's face. "Alright, let's get you up. We have a problem to solve, one that you caused."

It was Don's turn to smile but he kept it from his face as he was pulled to his feet by the other man and pushed towards the door. The lock disengaged and he was forced down the stairs. Two flights down they left the stairs and headed directly for Control as he'd expected.

He had done all he could to sour the intruder's plans and it seemed to have worked. That was obviously the problem Kurt now needed solved. On the downside however he'd gotten himself captured and five civilians were now being held hostage. That problem was of far more importance to him. How he was going to address that he had no idea. Unarmed, held at gunpoint and with the threat of harm to hostages forcing his cooperation there wasn't much he could do.

.


	11. Chapter 11

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

_**A/N:** Things get a bit rougher..._

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

-100-1111-1110-

Pushed inside Control Don was propelled along for a few more paces before he was shoved roughly to his knees. Whilst Kurt had seemed relatively polite the second man, even if he hadn't spoken, had seemed less inclined to be gentle with their prisoner despite his lack of resistance. Not in any position to protest he regained his balance only to have the man's gun pressed firmly against the side of his head. Doing his best to ignore that, not an easy feat, he carefully turned his head slightly so he could see the others seated on the floor. The civilians looked to be unharmed, showing varying degrees of fear and shock but physically unharmed. He moved his gaze further, taking in as much of the room as he could see in order to make a full appraisal of the situation.

Finally he found the senior technician sitting at a computer console. He recognised him even if he hadn't been able to put a face to the name before now. The man had turned at their entry and was now rising from his seat to approach them.

"You have them?"

"Here." The man standing over him responded, holding out something.

Simon eagerly reached out his left hand and took the offered item. Don now noticed that the man's right hand held a pistol.

"What are you going to do now? You got what you came for." Don demanded, the last was a fishing exercise seeking verification. He'd spotted part of a lanyard, recognising the word printed on it as a well known computer brand.

He saw Simon smirk at the comment. The technician turned his hand allowing the agent to fully see what he held, a string of flash drives. He dangled them tauntingly before slipping them safely into his pocket. Confirmation for Don that data had indeed been what they were after. Hence the raid late this evening on the building, there was no way the tech could get the data out undetected otherwise. All the normal exits had security scanners on them; all the other exits such as fire escapes were alarmed if opened. Last time this had been attempted a man had been forced to shoot up the bullpen to cause an emergency evacuation and thus bypassing the security scanners. This time it had been attempted by stealth, the invaders trying to keep a low profile by targeting the nearly abandoned building and shutting down the critical systems internally. They would have bypassed any scanners. It had worked until Don became suspicious.

"I'm curious to know what you would suggest Agent Eppes. Your interference caused this little problem." Kurt waved his gun at the banks of monitors behind him drawing the agent's attention back to him.

Don looked up from his kneeling position at the surveillance monitors. Teams of agents, SWAT and LAPD could be seen in position at every possible exit from the building, locked out just as securely as their quarry was locked in. Don's desperately needed backup had been holding helplessly in place due to what was clearly Simon's work. Or perhaps not so helplessly, Don could see some equipment being brought up in the hands of some fire fighters. An attempt was going to be made to break in. Even with the Jaws-of-Life and heavy duty power saws it was going to take some effort, this was the very thing that the building had been designed to resist. Even the glass frontage of the building wasn't what it appeared, no glass had actually been used in its construction.

Kurt continued. "This is all your doing. We hadn't wanted any bloodshed but now we have no option but to take hostages to get out of here."

Gritting his teeth he didn't immediately respond. It was hardly his fault, Kurt and his men with the help of the tech had decided to stage this attack. No one had forced them into it that he could see. Not that it mattered really who was to blame. Don had almost snorted at the hide of the man when he said they hadn't wanted bloodshed, _what about the security guard lying dead in the alley?_ They were more than willing to shed blood to achieve their ends; they'd even tried to kill him before changing tactics. He brought his thoughts back to the present; he had to concentrate on the here and now. He'd seen a couple of the civilians pale at Kurt's words. Alexis and Mark at least understood the stakes almost as well as he did.

If the intruder wanted a suggestion from him, he would make one. "Not hostages, hostage. Just one."

The man looked appraisingly at him. "You? I thought that was against all the regulations."

"It is." _It was_. That was why he had been angry when David had exchanged himself with the woman that the surveillance contractor Ben Blakely had held in the elevator a year or so ago in this very building. A LEO was never supposed to exchange himself for another hostage, it made resolving the situation all the harder for his fellow agents as they became personally involved. Unlike David's situation however he'd already been taken, it was just now a matter of convincing them that he was the only hostage they needed. "That's why you only need me."

David had later explained why he had taken the action he had and now Don found himself in a similar situation, needing to protect the innocent. He cast his eyes over the civilians, the techs and the Control staff. There was a reason why Kurt had mentioned bloodshed; the intruders had more than enough hostages to get their point across. With one murder on their account they would be less likely to hesitate to kill someone if they felt it necessary. The surfeit of hostages also allowed them to take riskier courses of action as they could afford casualties. No, he couldn't allow anyone else to be harmed if there was any way that he could prevent it.

Kurt seemed almost amused. "You got tickets on yourself, Agent? What makes you so special that taking you will be enough to get us all out?"

Don pointed with his chin at one of the monitors. He could see David and Colby at that one along with some LAPD officers. He couldn't see Nikki but expected that she would be nearby, keeping close to the rest of the team. "Those are my agents. We go out that exit and they won't shoot. They won't want to risk my life and will obey my orders. That's why it's against regulations. That's why it will work now and get you and your men out safely."

Despite demanding Don solve their problem Kurt still asked the question. "Why would you help us escape, Agent?"

_Like I got a choice?_ Don thought. He had to sell this despite it going against everything he'd been taught. It was his neck on the line, literally. He nodded at the civilians. "It's my job to protect people, to protect them. The only way to do that is to get you out of the building. The only way you are going to get out of the building is with a hostage. I'm your best bet." The flipside was that it was the only way he could see to get the intruders to release the seal on the building and open themselves up to attack. That was what he was really angling for.

Kurt turned to Simon as if seeking his opinion.

Simon shook his head, clearly disapproving of the idea. "He's too dangerous. I told you that Agent Eppes is one of the best agents in LA. We're not going to be able to control him."

Don raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly up at the man holding his gun on him, not an easy task with said gun still against his head, then at the gun in Kurt's hand before moving onto Simon. He couldn't quite turn far enough to include the last man. "I'm not in any position to resist. You and your goons are all armed, I'm not."

The tech considered this. He assessed the handcuffed and kneeling agent, he certainly seemed under control at the moment. It was his turn to indicate the civilians. "You're only playing along because of them."

"Absolutely." Don answered immediately. There was no denying that. Without the civilians being threatened he wouldn't have surrendered in the first place.

"If we leave them here then you'll be free to act." Simon continued.

"I'm not going to do anything that will start a fire-fight which could get my team hurt or send you back up here putting these people at risk. You take me, only me, and I'll get you past my team. Take anyone else, try any other exit and the normal rules will apply." It was a good offer and he would keep his word, at least up to the point where the hostages were no longer at risk. After that, if there was an after, all bets were off.

Kurt seemed satisfied, nodding his head. "Good."

"You're not going to do what he suggested," Simon argued. "I've heard enough about him to know that he doesn't do anything without an angle."

"I already figured that." Kurt looked back at the agent and saw the faintly hopeful expression change to disappointment as he continued. "I wanted to see what he would try to get us to do. We're not going anywhere near his team, they'll have worked out a rescue scenario for this type of situation. He's too smart not to have one."

"So what then?"

"I have something else in mind, but first we need to do something about that." Kurt pointed at one of the monitors.

Don saw that it was the one he noticed earlier showing the fire fighters setting up their equipment. Kurt waved his hand and Alexis was dragged to her feet by the third intruder and forced over to her desk. The agent tensed causing the man guarding him to press the gun harder against his head in response.

Kurt was issuing orders. "Set the radio so we don't need the headset. Simon, get those repeaters back up."

A minute or so later Alexis was sent back to her spot and Don was pulled to his feet by his guard and shoved roughly over to the desk. His guard jerked at his cuffs pulling him to a stop and scraping his wrists in the process.

"Who's in charge out there?" Kurt asked.

Scanning the various cameras Don spotted AD Wright talking to a fire fighter outside the main entrance. He jerked his head at the monitor. "Him. He's the Assistant Director in Charge of this office."

"Call him. Tell him only what I tell you to say." Kurt held up the microphone with one hand, his gun with the other.

Don eyed the weapon but it was not the real threat and Kurt knew it. Don would do as he was told due to the guns being held on the civilians. He nodded and the microphone button was clicked on. "AD Wright, this is 3695, Eppes."

-100-1-10110-1001-100-

Pacing back and forth as he waited for something to happen David couldn't help but go over the events of the last hour or so in his mind. Even though their team wasn't on call Control had notified him of the situation as Don was his team leader. He'd then called in the rest of their team and they'd all rushed to the building only to stand around outside with all the other agents as the building's entrances were sealed against them.

Charlie's frantic phone call had made David feel even more helpless, trapped outside the building while Don was facing armed offenders all alone. For a while there based on Charlie's call it was seemed likely that his team leader had been shot or even worse, had been killed. It had taken quite a bit of convincing to keep Charlie at home with Alan; there was nothing he could do to help resolve this situation. There was no mathematical expression that could assist a lone agent involved in a cat and mouse pursuit inside his own building. Eventually he'd seen the point and relented, demanding updates as they came. Finally they'd received the reports from Control that Don had survived that encounter relieving some of his tension and he'd been able to update Charlie on his brother's condition. The later reports that Don had been involved in another fire fight and was being actively hunted by the offenders he didn't pass on.

Then the radios had gone down along with the phone system leaving them with no updates at all. At least that was until Don's call where he'd told him that Control had been taken and that hostages were being held. But that was not the worst of it; he was being forced to surrender to the offenders. David had heard the underlying tone to his boss' voice and the aborted message he'd asked to be given to his father and brother which made it more than clear he didn't expect to survive his surrender. It was another update but one David couldn't pass on, not when he would be telling them that Don thought he was about to be killed.

That just left him and Colby to pace back and forth in front of the building in frustration and worry relieved only by the hope provided by arrival of the fire department and their specialised equipment. At least Nikki was being kept busy, speaking with the first response officers from the LAPD and going over the scene in the alley. Even better the light rain that had been falling most of the evening had finally seemed to run out, they could pace and not get damp.

David's restless pacing had taken him coincidentally past the ADIC's car when he heard the radio call addressed to Wright. Don was still alive. Without hesitating David grabbed at the handset. "Don, this is David."

A pause before Don responded, sounding reluctant. _"David, I can only speak to the ADIC. Get him now."_ It was clear that he was still in the hands of the intruders, David's hope that he'd somehow escaped was crushed.

"Stand-by." Searching for the ADIC he found Wright standing a short distance away briefing the fire chief. He also saw that Colby was a little further away talking to one of the SWAT agents. David rushed over to interrupt Wright. "Sir, Agent Eppes needs you on the radio."

"Get it done." Wright finished after acknowledging David. The fire chief headed off to supervise his men at the door they were about to attempt forcing.

Wright headed for his car and grabbed his handset, David trailing close behind. Colby had seen his partner's purposeful actions and was making his way over figuring something was up.

"Eppes, this is Wright, report."

"_Sir, tell the fire fighters to back off immediately_." The agent's voice was now urgent.

David shared a glance with the senior agent, the situation had just changed and they both knew it. That had sounded like a direct communication from the offenders in the building. They both then looked over towards the door at the side of the main entrance. The fire fighters had just started to try to wedge the narrow tip of the hydraulic Jaws-of-Life into the small gap between the door and the door jamb after using pry bars to create a slightly larger opening. At the nod from the ADIC David turned to Colby who'd just made it to the car and had missed the instruction. He explained what Don wanted and sent Colby off to stop the fire fighters. Until they knew exactly what was happening they had to obey the order. He heard the last of Don's report.

"…_monitoring and will start killing hostages if any attempt is made to enter the building." _

"Understood." Wright replied. "Demands?"

There was another pause before Don's voice returned. _"They have what they want. Maintain position, no attempt is to be made to enter the building or interfere in any way."_

"Interfere with what?" Wright demanded. There was no response. "Eppes, repeat your last."

David and the ADIC shared another look as the radio remained silent. The silence stretched another minute before it was clear Don was not going to answer. The ADIC raised the handset back to his mouth. "All team leaders on scene, report to me. All entry action is to cease immediately."

A series of replies came over the speaker as agents acknowledged the order. It seemed the offenders were allowing them to continue using the radio, not switching off the repeaters as they'd done earlier. The agents on the ground had gone to direct mode but the limited comms they'd allowed themselves had been rather scratchy as a result, especially with those at the rear of the building. It was also the reason the ADIC was recalling team leaders to him, their comms were compromised.

"Sir, what is the situation?" David demanded as he'd missed the first part of Don's report passing on the order to Colby.

"I'll brief everyone at once, Sinclair." Wright told him tersely. He grabbed at his folder and started making notes.

David had to accept that as Colby rejoined him, the same question also in his face. He repeated what knew and what he'd been told and they could only wait as agents started making their way over.

.


	12. Chapter 12

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

_**A/N: **__For those who have been patiently waiting, some Don!whump...  
_

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

-100-1111-1110-

He'd been dragged back and again roughly shoved to his knees, the gun returning to press firmly against his head. As threats went it was a good one but Don was irritated by it all the same. It wasn't necessary; the third intruder was maintaining a close watch over the hostages and would be able to kill them if he tried anything. That was putting aside the four guns against his unarmed and handcuffed self.

Kurt watched the monitors a moment longer before turning back.

"So, what are you going to do?" Don asked. There didn't seem to be a way that the men could get themselves out of the predicament they'd made for themselves. With the lack of demands he could only wonder at Kurt's plan.

"You'll find out in good time." Kurt answered, pulling a cell phone from his pocket.

The agent couldn't hear the conversation that followed as the intruder moved away and lowered his voice. Glancing around to reassure himself that the hostages were still okay he noted that Simon also seemed unsure what was going to happen next. That didn't bode well; it meant that despite Kurt's confident words they were possibly working things out on the fly. While that was an ideal situation if he was free and hunting them down it wasn't so good now with the lives of the hostages and his own in the balance.

Kurt finished the call and returned, seeing Simon's expression. "Don't worry, I've got it covered."

"How are we getting out of here? There's too many of them down there."

"We're going the other way."

"What other way?" Simon demanded.

Don looked up as Kurt stopped in front of him clearly wanting his reaction as he revealed his plan. "Helicopter."

Perhaps they weren't planning on the fly after all, a helicopter was something that needed to be on standby if it was to be effective in short order. It could work. It was a lot harder to stop a helicopter than it was to prevent a ground level escape. Don simply held the other man's gaze and kept his opinion to himself. At this point there was nothing much he could do about it. He debated raising his point again that they should take just him as a hostage but decided against it. Based on what had happened before he thought any insistence on his part would only push Kurt towards taking one or more of the civilians instead. He would have to take that as it came. His silence gave Kurt all the answer he needed but he continued staring at the agent.

"So I'm thinking, for when we're on the roof, we could do with a little more firepower." Kurt continued.

Don's eyes narrowed not liking where that was leading. "You have plenty of firepower." Flicking his eyes sideways he indicated the Desert Eagle that seemed to be permanently affixed against his head.

"Not much use over long range." Kurt explained after giving Don's guard an odd look. He turned to his inside help. "You can unlock the armoury?"

"I'm not sure. Give me a minute." Simon returned to the computer terminal and started work, clicking away with his mouse and typing a few commands.

Don wasn't too concerned about what Simon could do. As a computer tech he would have had very little call to have ever visited the armoury unless the single terminal went down and thus probably had little understanding of the full security arrangements in place. There were electronic locks that he would probably be able to get around but then he would have problems with the mechanical locks on the inner doors and the same locks over the weapons cages. The concern was what would happen once they realised that.

"I can get around the main locks and get you in." Simon finally reported.

"Excellent."

"But," Simon interrupted. He tapped away and the image on the main screen changed to show one of the grated security doors behind the front counter. Don recognised the door as being behind the reception desk where agents had to sign in to use the range that was a part of the armoury. There were no computers beyond that point; Simon would have never been any further than that. "That door has a mechanical lock. You will need the code."

"Do you have it?" Kurt asked the agent.

"No."

Simon had started working at the terminal once again. "Yes, he does. He's a qualified instructor. He has to have the codes to that door and the weapons stores."

Don looked down for a moment and sighed in defeat, there would be no bluffing his way out of this. In giving his automatically uncooperative answer he'd overlooked the fact that the tech could simply look up his record and see what areas of access he had. It was true; he'd been a firearms instructor ever since teaching at Quantico and had maintained that qualification since then by running occasional refresher courses as part of the regular training blocks all agents had to attend. He had the code to the door and the codes to the different styles of guns secured in their own sections, from Glock handguns through to sniper rifles like the one he'd shown Charlie how to use a few years before. The only areas he couldn't access were the cages containing some of the more exotic SWAT weapons.

"So, you do have the codes." The leader of the intruders said as Don looked back up.

There was no point denying it now so he said nothing. He really did not want to cooperate with them on this. The situation was bad enough already without them getting their hands on automatic rifles and the other equipment stored down there, weapons that had the range to affect the agents surrounding the building even from the roof. He was realistic though, if it were just his life on the line he could be firm on the point but there were others and he knew he may not have any alternative. He just had to play it out.

"You will give me the codes."

"No."

"Agent, you are really not in a position to refuse." Kurt started off reasonably.

"I'll help you escape, you don't need more weapons."

"Let me ask him." A new voice interrupted.

Kurt seemed a little surprised at the offer made by his guard and gave him another odd look before nodding slightly. Don glanced upwards around the ever present gun as best he could and didn't like the look on his guard's face.

"Agent?" Kurt asked, drawing his attention back.

Despite being fairly sure where this was going to lead he simply repeated his earlier refusal. His hands twisted against the restraint of the cuffs, a strong reminder of his helplessness. But his course was set; it was against his nature to make life easy for offenders. If they were going to concentrate on him then he would take it.

"Wrong answer." Kurt stepped back. "Matt?"

The gun abruptly withdrew from the side of his head. Don glanced upwards once again to see the weapon already starting downwards. He started to turn his head away but the heavy barrel struck him a stunning blow and he found himself sprawled on the floor. The carpet slowly came into focus as he rode out the stinging pain to find it replaced by a heavy pounding in his head. He came to the not so startling conclusion that a .50 calibre Desert Eagle was a more than effective club.

The cuffs abruptly cut into his skin as pressure was applied to them. Matt bent down over him, both hands in view meaning that the man was standing on the chain between his cuffs. The expression on his face now showed that he was enjoying himself. The grin widened as the foot twisted and the metal bit in even deeper causing the agent's eyes to screw shut and his mouth to open in a silent grimace of pain. Sudden fire in his left hand indicated that a nerve had been crushed. To be thorough the muzzle of the gun was ground into his bullet wound. Abruptly the pressures eased and with a tight grip over the abused wound on his left arm Matt pulled him back up to his knees.

"Well?" Kurt demanded.

He took a deep breath to steady himself as the newly reawakened pain in his left arm started to throb, adding itself to his other hurts. "No."

He realised he must have blacked out for a moment or three as he found himself once more lying almost face down on the carpet. It took him a moment to figure out how he could have come to be there before full memory returned.

"He's back." A voice commented.

"Good. Then he'll feel this." A second voice responded.

Blinking, his vision blurred then cleared in time to see a foot headed his way at speed. Unable to roll in time the boot impacted with his ribs forcing most of the air from his lungs. The world went black for a few seconds as he fought to breathe after being winded. Each shallow breath hurt but there had been no sound of bone breaking or any stabbing pain so he could be fairly no ribs were actually broken. He opened his eyes and found himself facing the hostages who were staring back horrified at what they were witnessing. A hand grabbed his shoulder and he was rolled back over. His tormentor once again bent over him, gun grinding downwards over the knots growing on the side of his head. To his dismay his gasp of pain was not silent.

"You killed my friend, Fed." Matt hissed in his ear punctuating his words with increased pressure from the oversized gun.

The grip shifted back to his wounded arm and he was dragged upwards again. Not sufficiently recovered to maintain his own balance he hung in the painful grip for a few moments before he could get some strength back in his legs. The impatient sharp jerk from Matt almost undid his limited recovery to this point but he managed to keep himself from falling when the grip released, staying upright with a distinct cant to one side over his bruised ribs. Painful pins and needles spiked at his left hand and he could barely think around the pounding in his skull.

"Keep saying 'no' for me." Matt hissed again.

Hanging on to his determination he found the strength to raise his head and turned his defiant gaze to the man's face. "Bring it on."

Matt reacted in the way he expected raising the weapon again. Don waited, without the strength or coordination yet to flinch away and reduce the impact he'd was going to use it to his advantage. If he was clubbed unconscious there was no way they'd get the codes. There was time for just one more thought, _this was going to hurt._

"Stop it!" Alexis suddenly called out and the blow didn't fall, halting mid-swing.

"You have the codes?" Kurt asked mildly.

"No." The Control operator sounded frustrated. "If I had them I'd give them to you."

Don's head was abruptly jerked back by Matt's hand in his hair as Kurt approached. His vision blurred again then cleared.

"Seems someone cares about you, Agent." Kurt said, stopping and looking down. "Do you care about her I wonder?" He moved past heading for Alexis.

Heart plummeting into his stomach Don struggled to turn and found himself almost grateful for Matt's less than gentle assistance as the man jerked him around by his hair. Kurt was standing in front of the older woman, his gun lifted to point at a spot squarely between her eyes. Unfamiliar with such threats Alexis was unable to tear her eyes away from the muzzle and barely seemed even to be breathing.

The danger to his friend gave him strength even as he knew if it persisted he would be forced to give them what they wanted. He ignored the pounding in his head as he concentrated. "You harm her or any of them and you'll get nothing more from me." Don promised.

"I will kill her."

"No you won't." Don insisted, hoping it was true. He concentrated on Kurt's trigger finger. It was currently resting along the slide so the threat was not quite as imminent as it seemed. If the finger moved inside the trigger guard Don was going to cave in and give them the damned codes, unwilling to allow Alexis to be executed for his obstinacy. He kept his thoughts from his face, determined not to show any sign that his resolve was almost gone until that point was reached. "You need me. Kill her and you'll get nothing more from me."

"I think you over estimate your value to us." Kurt said, turning to eye him carefully. He kept his weapon on target.

He didn't think so; the fact that he was still alive would seem to indicate he did have worth. It was wrong but he knew that they considered him to be the more valuable hostage, they wanted him alive and cooperative or at the very least manageable. It was his only bargaining chip and he'd thrown it down. Their hand was far stronger but he wasn't going to let them know that. The standoff continued before Kurt's trigger finger twitched and Don flinched, opening his mouth to capitulate. Unexpectedly Kurt suddenly folded, pulling his gun away. Closing his mouth with an almost audible snap he had no time to wonder at the reason behind Kurt's strange action on the brink of victory.

Matt however took that it a signal to recommencing 'asking' Don for the codes, this time using his hand to cuff him on the head. Obviously Matt had finally understood that continuing to use the large handgun as a club would render him useless or possibly even kill him. The blow was still powerful though and the agent once more found himself measuring his length on the carpet. The carpet fibres pulsed in his vision at the same rate as the pounding in his head but at least he didn't lose consciousness this time.

"Enough." Kurt stated. "Here, take these and check out his SUV."

Don managed to roll far enough over to see Kurt hand over the keys to the Suburban that they'd taken off him earlier. He remembered being a little puzzled that they'd not been tossed aside like the rest of his stuff when they'd searched him in the corridor. He'd then thought that perhaps they'd intended using it as an escape vehicle but that was definitely out now that a helicopter was on the way. He hadn't considered it as an equipment store.

"But-" Matt protested. He was having too much fun extracting his revenge to give up so soon. The others hadn't known that Tony had been his friend and mentor, the agent deserved everything he was getting.

"He's a supervisor," Kurt started explaining. "They carry more kit than the average agent, hence the SUV. Plus he's from the Violent Crimes Squad. With the action those guys see I'm betting he will have a rifle in there."

Don rested his head back against the carpet and closed his eyes. At least it would just be the one rifle, as deadly as the semi-automatic long arm was he could settle for that. It was far better than them gaining full access to the armoury where they could take their pick.

"See?" Kurt added noting the agent's reaction and taking it as confirmation. "One will do. Get going."

The door opened then closed before he felt a toe gently nudge his shoulder. Don opened his eyes to see Kurt crouch beside him, gun held loosely across his knee. The intruder regarded his captive for a few moments, his expression bordering on respect. He inclined his head ever so slightly in salute before his expression hardened.

"I have your measure now." Kurt began. Don realised the equipment in his SUV must have been in the man's mind the whole time. Allowing him to be beaten before threatening a hostage had been some sort of test. He'd failed it with his twitch when it appeared Alexis was about to be shot. "But next time Agent, I may not have an alternative. You will do as I say or I will kill someone. Understood?"

.


	13. Chapter 13

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

-100-1-10110-1001-100-

The rhythmic sound of a second set of helicopter blades beat upon the air growing steadily louder. David looked up, first seeing the lights of the LAPD helo that had been orbiting for the last five minutes. He scanned further and saw a set of lights approaching from the direction of one of the smaller airports nearby. It slowed and a spotlight suddenly stabbed downwards until it stopped, hovering directly above the Field Office. His first thought was that it belonged to a media outfit but then aircraft started to lose altitude, descending as if to land on the helipad. The media, willing to do almost anything to get a story, would never have dared that. He started to turn to warn the ADIC but he was already reacting.

"Sinclair, I thought I told you to have LAPD stand off." He'd been receiving a report from another agent and had only noted the helicopter descending to the roof, not that it was a second machine.

Colby was too quick, answering Wright before David could get more than the first syllable out. "That's not LAPD. Too big."

He was right; David had already decided that the helicopter landing on their building was too large, the LAPD patrol helos were smaller and lighter, built for speed due to the constant high speed pursuits they were involved in. Most of the media aircraft were also selected to meet the same requirements for the same reasons. The heavier sound this one made as its blades rotated identified it as being much larger even as they couldn't see past the glare of the spotlight. That could make it a rescue helicopter but they'd not requested one. Which only left a private charter.

"That's why no demands." David suddenly understood. "They're going to escape by helicopter."

"Get the LAPD to drive them away." Wright ordered, raising his voice over the steadily increasing noise.

David reached for the hand held radio he'd been given by a uniform earlier but saw that the LAPD helicopter was already moving in.

"_FBI, this is Tango Two."_ The police pilot called first.

"Tango Two, FBI."

"_Is that machine yours?"_

"Negative, Tango Two. Can you intercept?"

"_Stand-by."_

Heads craned upwards they watched the smaller LAPD helo's spotlight flash on as it moved in rapidly before suddenly darting aside. It looked like a game of chicken but the other helicopter held its ground forcing the police helo to dodge a second time. The smaller helicopter then buzzed around in a tight circle, spotlight aimed inwards but it was already too late, the other helicopter had landed. The LAPD helo made several slower, tight orbits before it suddenly pulled back to resume its circling from a greater distance, unable to auto-hover in the dark.

"_FBI, this is Tango Two."_

"Tango Two."

"_Sorry FBI, the pilot refuses to comply."_ The officer reported. It was hardly possible to perform their famous PIT manoeuvre on a helicopter to force it to do what they wanted. He only had verbal threats with nothing to back them up, the LAPD helos were unarmed. It was something the other pilot would have known. _"He's warned us off with threats to the hostages. Have you had comms with your hostiles?"_

The fact that the other pilot had actually warned off the LAPD ruled out the possibility that it was a private charter duped into helping the offenders escape. This helicopter and pilot were actively involved in the hostage situation. David started to reply to the officer's question when the ADIC's car radio came to life with Don's voice. "Tango Two, stand-by."

"_AD Wright, this is 3695, Eppes."_

"This is Wright."

"_Sir, they repeat, no interference."_

David shared an uneasy glance with Colby, Don's voice sounded a little less steady than it had earlier.

"We will not comply with any more demands until we know their intentions." Wright stated firmly.

After a significant pause Don returned. _"They will be moving to the roof with all the hostages. LAPD are to back off and allow their helicopter free passage. It will not be followed. For every minute they are delayed they will kill a hostage."_

"We will not permit them to leave with any hostages or the data they have stolen." The ADIC insisted. It hadn't yet been confirmed that information was what the intruders were targeting but after Don's earlier call it had seemed to be the most logical conclusion.

Another pause before there was a response. _"A hostage will be killed for every minute they are delayed."_

"Eppes has my cell number. Call me. I'm not doing this over the open radio." Wright demanded, addressing those controlling his agent.

David knew that their radio was not exactly open, being heavily encrypted but negotiation over the air via an intermediary was not the most effective. He saw Wright look up at the nearest surveillance camera before he deliberately tossed the radio handset back into the car. Reaching into his pocket the ADIC pulled out his cell and held it up, making himself clear. Now that a demand had been made they were in a position to deny it. The cost had also been made clear so now the need came for negotiation to reach a workable compromise as each side had the power to harm the other.

Already planning ahead as he waited Wright turned to Colby. "Get snipers into position, now."

The younger agent headed off at a run. They now knew where the intruders were going to be exposed. There were enough taller buildings overlooking the FBI Field Office that they should be able to find suitable vantage points. David just wished that Ian Edgerton was in town. The often strange quirk of fate that seemingly delivered the sniper to their door in their time of need had failed this time. Perhaps that was a good sign; perhaps they wouldn't need the third best sniper in the country.

-100-1111-1110-

Don had some time to himself, lying unmolested on the carpet as Matt went to fetch the rifle from his SUV. It had been inspected and loaded by the third man, whose name he finally learnt was Damian, before he slung it over his shoulder by the strap. They then simply waited, Kurt lounging in Alexis' seat as he constantly scanned the monitors for signs the agents outside were attempting to force entry to the building against his orders. Matt had earlier started to turn his attention back to the agent after his return but was stopped by Kurt. Matt settled for standing menacingly over him, whereupon Don irritated him further by ignoring him.

The sudden ringing of Kurt's cell phone in the silence of the room caused more than one of them to start. Don's eyes flashed open as he watched Kurt answer the call. He must have taken it off silent mode after calling for his escape route.

"Put down, they can't stop you. … Tell them to back off or we start killing people." Kurt ordered after a moment. He listened again before seeking confirmation, "You're down? Good."

"What's happening?" Simon asked. "Is it here?"

Don had hunted through the monitors he could still see from prone on the floor until he found the one showing the helipad on the roof. A large helicopter was now sitting there, illuminated by the spotlights, its rotors still spinning too fast to be seen clearly by the camera. As he watched they started to slow. He wasn't that familiar with types of helicopters but this one looked the sort that people hired for aerial tours and would probably seat up to six passengers. That meant up to three hostages could be forced along for the ride if there wasn't a second pilot.

"It's here." Kurt confirmed. He stood and reached for the radio handset at the desk. "Bring him here."

Matt dragged him up to his feet and shoved him forward. The sudden change in angle caused the blood to drain from his head and he briefly lost the strength in his legs. He would have fallen but for Matt's tight grip. Lying on the floor had given him some time to recuperate so he was able to recover quickly and stand unsupported a second later. Matt maintained his hold anyway, the Desert Eagle shoved painfully against the exact spot his foot had caught his ribs, no accident Don was sure.

He dutifully repeated the instructions given by Kurt into the radio.

"_Eppes has my cell number. Call me. I'm not doing this over the open radio." _

During the conversation Kurt had switched the camera covering the sidewalk outside the building's entrance onto the main screen so he could watch the ADIC. Don now saw his superior's deliberate actions, throwing aside the radio mic and pulling out a small object that had to be his cell.

"Another hard-ass." Kurt commented. "Alright. Give me the number."

"It's in my cell." He knew a few numbers off the top of his head but the ADIC's wasn't one of them.

Finding the number a few seconds later Kurt used Don's phone to make the call. It was easy enough to figure out the first question from the ADIC as Kurt provided his name before continuing. "You heard your man. … No, I don't think you understand your position. I have six lives here I can spend. … Proof?" Kurt abruptly walked over to the civilians sitting on the floor. He held the phone to Mark's ear. "Say your name."

"Mark Sanders."

The phone was moved on with the command repeated. "Alexis Carter."

"Angela Black."

"Anton Thurston."

"Sandy Matthews."

Kurt returned to the supervisor's desk, looking at the screen for Wright's reaction to the proof he'd demanded. "If we work our way through them I've still got your man and he won't go easy. We're going to the roof. Then, unless you want me to start tossing people off-" He stopped at an interruption. "I think you need to reconsider. You're not in any position to make that demand. Think about it, I don't even need to waste any bullets on them before they go over."

Don heard the horrified gasps behind him as Kurt's meaning was more than clear. If he felt that he was pushed to kill a hostage he could simply force his victim off the roof and allow the fall to do the job. On the monitor he also saw his boss' reaction; the phone lowered and stared at for a moment. As it started to come back up Kurt pressed Don's phone against his ear.

"Sir?"

"_Eppes?"_

Don knew what Kurt wanted him to say. Unfortunately he found himself believing the intruder could carry out the threat. The lives of the hostages meant nothing to him other than as coin to spend. He didn't like the idea of the intruders being allowed to escape, especially with the data they'd come to steal, but lives were being held in the balance to achieve that end. He could play hardball with lives that weren't his own, he'd done it before as had Wright, but he couldn't bear the thought of hostages being thrown alive off the roof. That was something else entirely. "He means it."

"_We won't let that happen."_ Wright sounded determined.

"Sir." He managed before the cell was taken away. He felt a measure of relief, the tone in Wright's voice suggested they were working on something. If all else failed and they were permitted to leave in the helicopter, at least two or three of the hostages would no longer be in danger. There was simply no room for all of them in the aircraft and some would have to be left behind.

"So, Assistant Director," Kurt started somewhat smugly. "We're going to the roof. We're getting in our helicopter and we're leaving. What that costs is up to you. I can leave you some live hostages or dead ones. Makes no difference to me."

Kurt smiled in satisfaction at Wright's next comment before snapping the phone closed. "Smart man, your boss."

"You haven't given him any options." Don answered. He'd known the intruders were determined to escape but the levels he'd promised to go to in order to ensure that appalled him as much as it had Wright. Against that level of intent it was hard to formulate a resistance.

"Exactly. If he does what he's told things will go smoothly." Kurt regarded him thoughtfully for a moment. "Now, if you do everything I want I'll leave all of them behind when we take off. Deal?"

Despite his semi-concussed state it was clear Kurt still considered him a potential threat. He was making an offer he knew Don wouldn't refuse in order to aid their escape. It came back to his earlier thought that they needed him if not cooperative then at the very least manageable. He could seriously interfere with their control of the hostages and delay them, either through passive or aggressive resistance. It would come at a steep price but he could do it. Their desire to keep him alive as a bargaining chip worked against them there. The agent had already offered to be their sole hostage and Kurt was apparently now going to accept that offer for the control it gave him. It was a no-brainer that due to his supposed value he was going with them anyway, so if he could reduce the hostage tally to one he would do it. Kurt really had taken his measure.

"Deal." He agreed. He stared into Kurt's eyes to get his point across as he added a condition of his own. "But if you hurt one of them it's off. If there's any arm twisting required you use me, not them. No-one gets thrown off the roof."

Kurt's confident grin strengthened as he got what he wanted. "That is up to your boss, not me. You do your part when needed and none of them have to die on your account."

That was as good a deal as he was going to get. He nodded his acceptance. It did not escape his attention that there had been no more mention of his surviving this night if he obeyed. If they got away it really would be no skin off Kurt's nose to eliminate a trained observer and expert witness.

Besides, having killed one of Kurt's men he figured he'd long since sealed his fate.

.


	14. Chapter 14

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

-100-1-10110-1001-100-

Returning to his pacing as they waited for the next development David still stayed close to Wright. He wanted to know what happened the moment the ADIC did and be available to respond in any way needed. To that end he'd also made sure he'd been able to grab one of the few spare tactical SWAT radios so he could listen in on their restricted frequency. Colby was gone; he'd joined the SWAT agents and was set up on one of the surrounding rooftops as a spotter. David saw Wright's plan in his sudden acquiescence to the offender's demands, get the offenders onto the roof where they would be exposed. Despite the horror expressed at the offenders threats to the hostages David knew that Wright had no intention of allowing them to escape with either the hostages or what they'd come to steal.

It was later than he expected when the first report came over the radio.

"_Movement. Door opening, roof."_ The SWAT Commander reported then paused. King's voice returned a few seconds later. _"I count four men armed with handguns, one rifle. Six hostages, one in handcuffs."_

"Condition of the hostages?" Wright's voice queried over the link.

A bright light suddenly shone from overhead causing an immediate response over the radio. _"Get that spotlight shut down!"_

Without questioning the reason behind the demand David raised the other radio he was carrying and relayed the order. A moment later the light died.

The SWAT agent returned to his report. _"Five civilians appear generally unharmed. Agent Eppes is wounded, blood visible on his head and left arm, but moving under his own power."_

"Is everyone in position?" Wright demanded.

David was frustrated at not hearing more about Don's condition but understood it was not the main concern at the moment. They needed to know that they had all the angles covered to have a shot at resolving the situation.

"_Five Sierras in position, their helicopter blocks some of our sightlines and we have no visual inside it. Get LAPD to back off, their downwash will affect our shot placement."_

David relayed the new order and the LAPD helicopter moved away, resuming an even wider orbit well away from the building but ready to cover any escape route if the offender's helicopter took off. He worried that the move would telegraph their plan to the offenders but there was nothing he could do about that, with hostages in the line of fire the SWAT snipers needed every advantage they could get.

"Standby." Wright ordered. He pulled out his cell and dialled.

As they waited for the call to connect David could hear the exchange of voices over the radio as the snipers selected targets and reported their readiness to Agent King.

"This is Assistant Director Wright." The ADIC announced into the phone. "I've ordered the LAPD helicopter to back off. Release all your hostages, give Agent Eppes the stolen data and you can leave. There will be no pursuit. I give my word."

The phone was not on loudspeaker mode so David could only go by the expression on Wright's face as to what the offender might have been saying. As he would have expected it seemed the offer was not accepted.

"Then take Eppes but leave the data and other hostages behind." Wright offered.

David ground his teeth together but didn't protest. They'd discussed what was going to happen after the offenders reached the roof. This had been part of that. Hard as it was their main interest at the moment was not the lives of the hostages, they were more concerned with the data that was being stolen. There had been no indication that they were after anything else and had to work under that assumption. The loss of data could potentially do far more harm than the loss of an agent, no matter who he was. It came down to a worst case scenario, the data could relate to counter-terrorism intelligence and procedures. That sort of information could not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands; it would seriously impede their effective response to an attack and greatly aid a terrorist's cause.

"I will order the LAPD helo back in, you will not be permitted to leave with the data." Wright made the next counter-offer. If it ensured the safety of the data they would allow more hostages to be taken. "If Agent Eppes confirms the data is safe you will be allowed to depart, no pursuit."

At this point in the game David knew that Don would have to tell the truth, no matter the threats made by the offenders to make him lie. This was a non-negotiable point and Don would know that. Leaving this demand until the offenders were exposed on the roof top had been their only hope of gaining leverage.

"Eppes, confirm data is the target." It seemed the offenders had put Don on the line. David could imagine what he'd been forced to say. There was no sympathy in the ADIC's voice as he gave his next order. "The data is not to be compromised, regardless of cost. Understood?"

Wright listened a moment longer then suddenly pressed the redial button on the phone.

"They're about to kill a hostage," Wright announced into his radio even as he raised the cell phone back to his ear. "Green light."

"_Roger that."_ King responded immediately. With what was at stake they'd been briefed on a change to their normal rules of engagement. Once the order was given they were to take whatever shots they had to including the riskier ones they would normally never have attempted. Collateral damage was not ideal but allowable. _"Action on. All Sierras, green light. Repeat, green light."_

Hardly daring to breathe in case he missed something David stared upwards at the edge of the building. The threat had been to throw a hostage off, Wright had earlier ordered the base of the building cleared so they were now standing on the opposite sidewalk. The angle gave a better vantage point of the building's roof but didn't give them any more power to affect what was happening up there.

The shot even if expected, was sudden. Even with the distance and distortion caused by echoes from surrounding buildings David could tell it was from a sniper rifle, not a handgun. The point of no return had been reached, SWAT had taken action. A second shot followed a moment later and they could do nothing but wait for whatever was happening to pan out. SWAT could not be interrupted by demands for SitReps; they would provide them when they could. A third shot then an even longer silence that was finally ended by Wright's cell ringing.

-100-1111-1110-

The trip up to the roof was slow. Despite having the ability to unlock the elevators and bring them back into service, the intruders preferred the stairs. Don could have told them they didn't need to be concerned with the power to the building being shut down; the instant start generators made that a pointless exercise and the reason it hadn't already been done. Knowing he would not be believed he kept that information to himself. Ever prepared it seemed for contingencies Kurt had jammed a chair into the door to Control as they'd left giving them a secure bolt hole if needed. Simon had unlocked all the internal doors and they'd been hustled into the stairwell.

The stairwell stretched interminably upwards. If he'd been fully healthy Don wouldn't have had any trouble but now he found the climb difficult, needing to stop a couple of times on the way up. The other hostages, less fit than the agent were finding it even harder to climb so many flights of stairs. The intruders threatened and cajoled their hostages and the climb was finally completed as the roof was reached. One of the techs, Sandy the oldest in their section, collapsed but was pulled to his feet by his companions as they were herded towards the helipad and the waiting helicopter.

A familiar buzzing overhead had Don looking up to see a helicopter circling the building. A spotlight flashed on turning the already illuminated roof into a mass of hard shadows and blinding light. A few seconds later the light abruptly shut down then the machine moved off.

They had almost reached the side of the helicopter when Don's cell phone rang. It could only be Wright.

"With nothing to stop you arresting us as we land, I don't think so." Kurt responded. "We're keeping the hostages."

They had stopped just shy of the side of the helicopter. Kurt flicked his gun as he finished speaking and Matt pushed Don over to him. Kurt, now listening to Wright's response, jerked his head at the helicopter. Matt slid the door open and stood back to cover the hostages grouped together a few yards away.

"We going?" The pilot had turned as the door opened and now asked the question, hand poised over some controls. It was clear he wanted to start the engine.

"Wait." Kurt ordered before returning his attention to the phone. If the helicopter started up he wouldn't be able to hear a thing standing right beside it. "I'm the one calling the shots, Assistant Director. I'm taking who and what I want. This is your last warning." He suddenly held the phone to Don's ear. "Tell them."

Unlike David, Don had an idea why the LAPD's spotlight had suddenly shut down. The hard line being taken by the ADIC suggested all too clearly that snipers were in place. The hard shadows thrown by the light would interfere with a sniper's aim, the less intense illumination provided by the helipad spotlights worked more to their advantage. He cast his eyes over the intruders and the civilians taking note of their positions. It seemed the intruders had not yet made the connection, simply keeping their hostages in a tight group while they gave themselves a yard or so of separation.

Dutifully as per his deal Don passed on what Kurt wanted him to say. "Sir, they will kill a hostage."

Wright's answering question confirmed they'd reached the end point. _ "Eppes, confirm data is the target."_

Without hesitation he snapped out, "Yes, sir."

"_The data is not to be compromised, regardless of cost. Understood?"_

The order was clear enough, he just couldn't see how he was going to carry it out at the moment. But one thing he did know, his deal made under duress with Kurt was off. "Understood."

"I don't think I like the sound of that, Agent." Kurt commented, pressing the phone against his chest to ensure this conversation was not overheard by Wright.

Don faced him squarely. "You have to leave the data behind."

Kurt stared at him a moment longer, his expression hardening. The phone was brought back up. "You were warned. I suggest you move your men back from the side of the building."

"You don't have to do that." Don said desperately as Kurt snapped the phone closed. "You have an out."

"I'm not giving up now, Agent. Matt, pick one and send them over." Kurt ignored the phone as it started to ring.

The hostages suddenly huddled together, clutching at each other in fear as they heard the order. Don started to step forward, to offer himself as the victim but had to stop himself and squash all emotion. The ADIC's order meant that he had another focus, getting himself killed would hand the intruders everything they wanted. Before his hesitation was noticed he was grabbed by the arm and yanked back, a gun jammed into his ribs.

"Not you, Agent." Kurt said. "Damian, get that rifle ready. Some pot-shots into the feds down below might be in order."

The agent split his attention as Damian unshouldered the rifle and pulled back the bolt. For the moment though the rifle was turned on the huddled hostages from where he stood near the tail section of the helicopter. Matt meanwhile had stepped up to the hostage closest to him, Angela, and was roughly pulling her away from the others despite their efforts to hold her back. A couple of blows from his Desert Eagle and the last of the hands dropped away. Angela dug in her heels and tried to pull back, lost in terror her fight was soundless as she concentrated everything on escaping. Unfortunately for her Matt was larger and stronger and was easily ably to drag her towards the nearest edge of the building.

Turning his gaze away for a moment Don found his target, Simon. The computer technician looked equally horrified, his gun hanging seemingly forgotten in his hand as he watched the drama unfold but made no move to prevent it. He had to get to him somehow and get the flash drives away from him. Looking back at Angela and Matt, now a few yards further away he noted that the edge of the roof wasn't far. Desperate plans flashed through his mind, assessed on the basis that he would have only one chance. It was also going to be next to impossible with the restraint of the handcuffs and Kurt's hand on his arm but he had to try.

He saw the result before he heard the shot, Matt jerked suddenly, his grip on his terrified victim slackened. Angela pulled away and ran for the door back into the building as the second shot rang out. Don barely saw Matt crumple as he was already in motion.

Shoving his weight sideways he struck Kurt with his shoulder. The hand on his arm released its grip as Kurt automatically attempted to regain his balance, stumbling away. He'd maintained his hold long enough however for Don to fall. Using the opportunity he wiggled his hips and was able to pull his hands down past them far enough to slip his legs through. Having his hands now in front of him greatly increased his ability to act. Kurt had regained his footing and was turning back. Don was close enough to lash out with a foot and hooked the intruder on the ankle, sending him crashing down to the ground. Rolling Don made it up to his feet and started towards Simon. As he moved he saw that the hostages had started to scatter, trying to follow Angela to the door. Damian had reacted to the shot, he'd already grabbed one hostage and was holding Alexis firmly to him as he attempted to regain control over the others.

"Move!" Don shouted, adding motivation. The confusion would help him. "Mark, get them away."

Keeping to his goal he didn't take further note of what they did, Simon was all he had time for at the moment. The technician was slow to react, starting towards the hostages to help Damian corral them, not noticing the danger approaching from a couple of yards away. Don raised his shackled hands, clasping them together before bringing them down with all the force he could muster on Simon's right shoulder. The technician stumbled and lost his grip on the gun in his hand. Don ignored the loose weapon, bringing his hands down again on the back of the technician's neck, driving the man to the ground. He reached for the pocket and found the flash drives, pulling them out by the tangle of lanyards.

He closed his fist around them, realising as he did so that they had no weight so he couldn't throw them. He had to get to the edge of the roof to get rid of them; it was the only way to remove them completely from the equation. With single minded focus he got to his feet and started his unsteady sprint, if he got enough momentum going they would go over even if he were gunned down.

The expected shot came second or so later.

.


	15. Chapter 15

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

-100-1111-1110-

Stumbling to a stop at the edge of the roof, Don flung the flash drives out into space. Watching after them for a second he was reassured as they vanished, spinning safely out of reach into the night.

"No!"

Don heard Simon's shout at the same time as he heard the shot. He automatically dodged to one side and ducked as if that would help. The world spun suddenly letting him know he was not quite as recovered as he'd thought but he retained his footing. He looked back to see that Simon was already falling backwards, he'd been on his knees with the 9mm in hand aimed at him. The bright blood still pumping from his head as he fell explained what had happened. The shot had been a sniper taking Simon out before the technician could fire on him.

Looking up further Don saw that Kurt was standing tight against the side the helicopter, Damian at his side. In front of them, held closely in place were Alexis and Sandy, shields between them and the snipers deadly aim. The rifle was lying abandoned a short distance away as Damian was unable to control both the unwieldy weapon and a handgun along with a hostage. Glancing quickly around the rest of the roof he saw that the others had made it to safety.

Don approached carefully. From the lack of further shots from the snipers he gathered that Kurt and Damian were sufficiently protected. He moved past Matt's body, then the dead technician and finally the discarded rifle, ignoring all the available weapons. There was no point in taking one, the intruders had hostages and he couldn't bluff it out, he knew they would kill them. He was back to his earlier goal, saving lives. To that end he stopped a few paces away, holding his hands up to show his intentions. His position was also no accident, adding himself to the shield protecting the remaining intruders. Kurt's weapon shifted away from Sandy's head to point at him.

"Any reason I shouldn't kill you?" Kurt demanded tightly.

Despite the threat he knew he'd made it past the first hurdle, he hadn't been simply shot out of hand. "You still need a hostage."

"Got two."

He eyed them both critically. The older male computer technician was still exhausted from the climb up the stairs, Alexis was keeping it together even though she was clearly in distress from the gun being held on her. Not pulling any punches he gave his assessment. "They're more trouble than they're worth. He's about done in and she's old. I'll go with you."

"You're more trouble than you're worth." Kurt angrily threw his words straight back at him as his hand shifted on his gun. "I'll think I'll stick with them."

"I'm not making a deal this time." Don started, his meaning clear. Deals could too easily be broken. Ignoring the click as the safety was disengaged he stepped half a pace closer. "I'm giving you my word. I'll do anything you need me to do to get you away clear. He's a dead weight and she might have a heart attack at any time, leaving you with nothing."

"You've destroyed everything."

"I've done all I was ordered to do." He was completely unrepentant as he stared down the barrel of the gun. "Take me."

Kurt's eyes narrowed as he thought that through. "You know what you're saying?"

"For them." He explained the obvious. "Let them go."

"Just the small issue of snipers, Agent." Kurt's sharp anger was wearing off and he was considering the angles more clearly. He'd taken the agent's measure earlier and could believe his word on this.

Another step closer, feeling more confident now as Kurt seemed to be wavering. "Use them as shields while you get in the chopper. I'll get in as well. Then you let them go."

"Still got your boss to deal with."

"I'll tell him to let us go. The data is safe now so this is just a basic hostage situation. I'm a federal agent, he'll try to keep me alive." If they thought he was more valuable than a civilian then he would use that.

Kurt nodded to Damian and they moved aside slightly, clearing access to the door. "You get in first."

"No problem." Don shifted his focus to the pilot who was just now unfolding himself from the protective ball he'd ducked into back when the shooting started. Seeing that he realised that even though it had felt like forever it had only been a couple of minutes since Matt had grabbed Angela which also explained why he'd found Kurt and Damian huddling beside the helicopter and not already in it. He concentrated back on the here and now, directing his next words at the pilot, circling one finger pointing upwards as best he could. "Spin it up."

The pilot hesitated, not sure what to make of being given an order by a hostage.

"Do it." Kurt confirmed. "We're leaving."

Don took the last step, reaching the skid and the step just above it. As the pilot started flipping switches and the engine whined into life he climbed up and in. It was a little awkward, only being able to use the one handhold but he managed over the protest of his ribs. He barely noticed that the interior was luxurious, the helicopter one of the sort used to fly tours over the city for the wealthiest of tourists. He perched on the edge of a plush leather seat as he kept his attention focused outwards, hoping that Kurt would accept his bargain and release Alexis and Sandy.

Kurt shifted sideways so he could reach the door, keeping Sandy in front of him. A hard word in his ear and he released him to climb up and past the agent before sitting. The heavily tinted windows of the helicopter would provide protection against a shot from the opposite angle. The interior of the helicopter didn't seem to be illuminated so his actions would be almost invisible but that didn't stop Kurt from immediately placing his gun against the agent's head. Don was only too aware that the safety was still off and stayed very still. Sandy also stood frozen in place as Damian moved in behind him then stopped, still keeping Alexis close.

"Call your boss." Kurt ordered, handing the agent his phone. "Make the deal."

As he waited for the call to connect he was aware of increased noise from outside the helicopter. The area was suddenly bathed in light and he realised that the LAPD helicopter had returned. The snipers must have made some report regarding their lack of available shots and the police helicopter had returned to survey the scene. He turned the volume on his phone up as loud as it would go and was just able to hear it when it was answered.

"_Wright."_

"Sir, this is Eppes." He said loudly over the noise. Kurt abruptly moved around and after tapping Damian on the shoulder slid the door most of the way closed, reducing the noise to a workable level. He took a seat across from him as Don lowered his voice no longer needing to shout. "The data is safe. It was on a sting of flash drives. I've tossed them off the roof."

"_Stand-by."_ Wright disappeared for nearly a minute before returning. _"The spotters confirm that. They also confirm two offenders down and that some of the civilians have escaped to safety. What is your situation now?"_

He watched Kurt as he spoke, he may have been given the power of negotiation but he still needed to be careful what he said. "They still have hostages and want to leave. They are willing to release the other hostages if I go with them."

"_If they go mobile we won't be able to intervene."_ Wright warned.

Wright's warning showed he understood the situation. He knew Don had ruined their plans and his life was most likely completely worthless the moment the need for him had gone.

From Don's perspective he'd been ordered to protect the data with his life and that of the hostages if necessary and he'd done that. Now he was choosing to protect the lives of the last two hostages with his own. "This is my choice. They are not forcing me to do this. If you let us go we save two hostages."

"_There's no other way?"_ It was half question, half statement of fact.

"No, sir. They have very little left to lose." He confirmed.

"_I'll have the LAPD back off if they confirm the last two civilians have been released,"_ Wright hesitated, clearly reluctant to continue. It was simple math however and he hardly needed to hire a consultant to figure that losing one life to save two was better than losing all three. _"If they are released I will allow the offenders to leave."_

"Sir."

"_Eppes, we will do our best."_

"Thank-you, sir. Stand-by." He would not be abandoned but he was pretty much on his own for all they could do to aid him. It was somewhat comforting nonetheless. He pulled the phone away from his ear and offered it to Kurt. "He's agreed to let you go if you release the last two hostages. Do you want to hear it from him?"

Kurt shook his head and slid the helicopter's door back open. Tapping Damian again on the shoulder this time he motioned him up and in. He sat back in his previous position, the gun again brought back up to rest just above the agent's ear.

Damian seemed a little reluctant, obviously concerned at exposing himself. Don raised the phone again. "Sir, order the snipers to stand down." Upon hearing the positive response Don turned ever so carefully and nodded at Kurt.

"We good to go?" The intruder demanded of the pilot.

"Ready."

"Get in here!" Kurt shouted at his last man. Once Damian was in he added, "Send them away and shut the door."

"Are you sure about this?" Damian questioned.

Another sign of good faith was needed. Don spoke into his cell and a few seconds later the bright spotlight shut off followed by the noise levels dropping slightly as the LAPD helicopter withdrew. There was nothing now to prevent their leaving. Damian shoved at first Alexis' shoulder then Sandy's. They didn't need any further encouragement, quickly making for the door leading back into the building as the helicopter door slid shut and was latched behind them. Don watched them go in relief, seeing Alexis stop and turn back once she'd reached the door. After a second she disappeared inside.

A tug at his hand and the active cell phone was taken from him. Kurt snapped it closed and tossed it onto the seat opposite. A shouted order to the pilot and the engine note changed as seconds later they lifted. There was a moment of relative peace as the roof dropped away beneath them to be replaced by a view of the distant street. Leaning closer to the window Don looked down. There was a veritable sea of flashing red and blue lights, the road totally blocked off. A couple of vehicles moved, attempting to pursue the helicopter from the ground. Though he couldn't see it he expected that the LAPD helicopter would be somewhere behind them mirroring their path. He was not alone.

A moment later he tumbled off the seat onto the floor, cupping his hands over a new source of pain having been struck once again on the side of his head. Looking up he was rewarded with the sight of Kurt's gun aimed squarely between his eyes. It was darker inside the helicopter now that they were away from the wash of the helipad lights, but the tastefully muted LEDs he could now see under the seats and beside the door provided enough light to see by. Once he was sure he had his attention Kurt started speaking in the manner of reading out a litany of charges.

"Simon spent a lot of time on this, Agent. We stood to make an obscene amount of money. You had to go and destroy all that. We've failed to get what we came for because of you and I don't accept failure from anyone. You also cost me two of my men."

"Just doing my job." He had no regrets for any of it. He accepted Kurt's blame for the deaths of two of his men against his account even if he'd only been directly responsible for one. As unimportant as it was he noted that Simon's death had not been included in the tally.

"Your job is done."

The sentence had been given. Knowing what was to come next he gave a single nod and agreed, continuing to stare unflinchingly at the weapon. "I'm done."

"Not in here!" A voice broke in. It was the pilot. "You could hit something important."

_Yeah, like my head._ As last thoughts went Don was rather proud of it. He lay back and calmly waited, not sure that Kurt would listen to the pilot's concerns. If it brought the helicopter down that was just fine by him.

Damian leant forward over him, a hand held out. "They might see the muzzle flash. Wait 'til we land."

-100-1-10110-1001-100-

Concern growing at the ADIC's responses over the cell David was powerless to do anything.

"There's no other way?" Wright sounded resigned. He listened then sighed deeply. "I'll have the LAPD back off if they confirm the last two civilians have been released. … If they are released I will allow the offenders to leave."

David rounded on the ADIC in shock. _He was going to allow this?_ The last report he'd heard over the SWAT radio at Wright's request didn't stop at the number of offenders down and hostages freed. It had also included the fact that Don had climbed into the helicopter to be followed by one of the offenders. Their chance of a shot was blocked by the two remaining hostages, their normal rules of engagement returning now that the precious data was safe. Allowing the offenders to leave meant that they would be taking Don with them.

"Sir!" He protested but was waved off.

"Eppes, we will do our best."

"Sir, what-?" David started as Wright seemed to be waiting. A hand came up and he held his silence as Wright ordered the SWAT snipers to stand down.

"They're going to release the other two hostages." Wright finally explained.

"You don't have to let them go." David argued. "The snipers can take out the helo." A helicopter had a number of vulnerable points where a bullet could effectively ground the machine without the risk of blowing it up.

Wright shook his head. "That will just get all the hostages killed." He appeared distracted, cocking his head over the cell as he heard something. "Tell LAPD to back off."

Knowing his boss was right David reluctantly passed the order on then saw the ADIC slowly lower his phone.

"He's gone." Wright reported somewhat dully. He snapped out of it an instant later, brusquely giving orders. "Get the LAPD helo to follow and round up a couple of our cars to do the same. I want us to be there when they land."

Taking Colby along was out of the question, he was still up on one of the surrounding rooftops. David shouted at the three nearest agents and they ran for their vehicles. He called Tango Two and relayed the order. His car was next to the ADIC's, tossing the hand-held LAPD radio onto the passenger seat he started to climb in then remembered something.

"What am I going to tell his family?"

"Nothing. Tell them nothing, Sinclair." Wright ordered. "It's not over yet."

.


	16. Chapter 16

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

-100-1-10110-1001-100-

It was only due to the light early morning weekend traffic and the guidance provided by the following LAPD helo that the pursuing FBI vehicles had any chance at keeping track of the fleeing helicopter.

David took the next left and accelerated, tailed by the other agents. This was a long straight road and he caught a glimpse of lights in the sky far ahead, both helicopters momentarily visible. They didn't need to negotiate other traffic, one-way streets or traffic signals. Their straight-as-the-crow-flies path continued to increase their lead over the ground-bound vehicles despite their best efforts. If there was the slightest chance of getting Don out of this it was going to come down to the LAPD helo and any of their squad cars that happened to be close to the helicopter's landing site when it got there. Wherever there was, the LAPD helo had no idea as yet. Either way, the pursuing FBI agents were just too far away to be of any use.

As he drove David decided that Wright's order had been for the best. Calling Charlie and Alan up now and giving them the news that Don was being held hostage in a fleeing helicopter they could barely keep up with was not going to be any sort of reassurance. His last contact with them had been to let them know Don was alive, that would have to do. It was better to have them waiting for further word knowing that, rather than what was really happening. If he called them now he would not be able to tell them whether or not Don was even still alive. He didn't want to cause the family any unnecessary anguish. Looking at things realistically, no matter how hard that was, he could accept that there was likely to be plenty of that before the night was out.

He took a right and pounded at his steering wheel in frustration as he had lost sight of the helicopters and was relying totally on the radio. They could hope, but that was all there was, hope.

-100-1111-1110-

Kurt held his gun on target a few moments longer before lowering it and slipping the safety back on. He turned away and gazed out the window.

The agent relaxed, shifting slightly to make himself a little more comfortable on the hard floor. It may have been carpeted but there was no underlay. He almost snorted, he was going to be killed as soon as they landed and here he was worrying about carpet underlay or rather the lack thereof. He shook his head ever so slightly; it really was strange the way the mind worked at times. He shifted again and simply lay still, thinking about not much at all. The reawakened pounding in his head helped. Thoughts of Charlie and their father still managed to repeatedly intrude as time progressed but he pushed them away, there was no need to do that to himself. He knew how he felt, just as they did.

He'd been staring at it for some time before he realised just what it was he was looking at. His mind abruptly snapped into full alertness as it dawned on him he may have a way of changing things. The small fire extinguisher was of the dry powder type and mounted in a quick release bracket next to the door, only a few feet away. He would have to move to reach it, but it would be work of bare moments to get it free and deployed. The cabin would be filled with the fine white powder that was the next best thing to smoke.

That put him into a quandary. He could do it now, fill the cabin, blind the pilot and most probably bringing the helicopter down. Splash three bad guys, the pilot included as he seemed to be a more than willing participant in the night's events. Splash one FBI agent but that was a given at this point so no change there, taking out the bad guys would be worth it. The chain of consequences progressed to its logical conclusion, splash who and whatever happened to be under them when they hit. That was the problem, he had no idea where they were or what might be below, it could be an empty industrial complex which would be no issue, but it could just as easily be a highway or even worse a series of houses. The death toll could extend to innocents. He'd worked to save five lives tonight; he wasn't going to take others to replace them.

He was left with one last option. When they landed he was to be executed, that was a fact. He could lay there and take it or he could go out fighting. Or, he dared to hope, perhaps even escape. Path decided he studied the release until he was confident he could undo it blindfolded. The same attention was turned to the handle and pin assembly. It wasn't going to be the easiest with his hands chained together but he didn't need to aim it anywhere in particular, just set it off. For that matter he could leave it in the mounting bracket but the spread of the dry powder would be more effective if he got it loose and waved it around to cover the whole cabin. There was one more detail he needed committed to memory, the actual door release.

Thus occupied he barely noticed that they had started descending. It was not until they banked and the engine note changed as their rate of descent increased that he knew the time had come. Using the banking manoeuvre as a cover he allowed himself to roll, thanking the One listening that they had banked the right way. He braced against the second such turn however, not wanting to leave his new position lying almost directly next to the fire extinguisher. Hiding the movement he flexed his fingers and wrists, limbering them up. His wrists had swelled somewhat after Matt had stood on the cuffs but he still had some movement against the metal loops.

The engine note dropped still further and they straightened. The nose lifted as forward movement was washed off and the descent became more definite. He concentrated now on flexing his leg muscles without moving his legs. If he were to have any real prospect of escape he would have to be able to run. At least Kurt's earlier strike had served only to knock him from the seat and remind his head that it was supposed to be hurting. Most importantly, his vision was still clear and he felt no dizziness. He had every advantage he was going to get.

"Where are they?" Kurt demanded.

'_They',_ Don thought, would have to be the LAPD helicopter.

"Not far behind us." The pilot responded.

"You and Damian get the car while I finish up here." He ordered.

"Make it quick." The pilot responded, completely uncaring about the imminent murder. "Stand-by."

Five seconds later Don tensed as he felt the left skid touch followed by a bump as the right skid hit the ground. They were down. He had to act before the pilot got his door open or it would be all over. He was up and moving before he'd even finished the thought, ripping the fire extinguisher from the bracket. Taking a deep breath and holding it Don turned as he pulled the pin and pressed the handle. The fine white powder exploded from the nozzle under high pressure, the stream hitting the cockpit window and splashing sideways. The pilot disappeared from view almost instantly. Don waved the extinguisher from the right to the left in one quick pass to spread the smokescreen as completely as he could. He heard coughs, curses and a shot. The round passed him by within inches. A miss was all he needed, there was no time to dwell on anything more.

He had one more use for the extinguisher. Still squeezing the handle he swung the heavy metal canister in the general direction of Damian, the man closest to him. He felt it connect somewhere on the man's body and heard a cry of pain letting him know he'd caused some damage. There was no time to congratulate himself, he had to go.

Dropping the extinguisher he felt for the door release, finding it quickly. In all his moving he'd kept one foot anchored in place to keep a reference point. He pulled the door open until the gap was barely wide enough to let him tumble out. Turning he immediately slid the door shut to prevent the powder from losing its effectiveness. Blinded by the whiteout it should take those still trapped inside a little while to orientate themselves and open the door, giving him the chance he needed.

Bending low due to the still swiftly rotating blades above his head he sprinted away. Initially heading in no particular direction, just away, he needed distance. After about thirty yards or so he started taking note of his surroundings. He was running across grass, the wet blades slippery under his shoes. They'd landed in some sort of park or small sport field. Up ahead was a high chain link fence. After checking the alternatives to each side he diverted his path, there was no way he was climbing up and over that. Going left he made for the cluster of buildings a hundred yards away. He splashed into a puddle, shoes slipping in the mud but he powered on, refusing to fall.

Suddenly the world went white and he almost went down. It was a helicopter hovering over the field, its light aimed at the fleeing figure. He turned briefly towards the light, squinting his eyes half closed and raising his hands before continuing on. As he'd hoped the light shifted, his handcuffs serving to identify him. Automatically he glanced back to see the grounded helicopter was receiving the hovering aircraft's attention. A door was open and he recognised it as the pilot's door. From it white powder was still billowing like smoke. He could see the man standing hunched over on the grass a few yards away from the aircraft, back jerking as he looked to be coughing up a lung. Don had been sure to aim a good dose of the powder his way.

He kept running, reaching the concrete just before the buildings. Stealing another glance back he increased his speed, two figures were running his way in clear pursuit one albeit with a limp. The LAPD helicopter was lighting them up and buzzing low over their heads in an effort to distract them but they were still following his path. At least the bright light should ruin whatever night vision they had giving him a slight edge as his eyes were already recovering.

Concentrating back on where he was going he dodged in time to avoid running into a trash can at the side of the first building. He really needed to pay attention to what he was doing if he didn't want to take himself out. He passed pile of trash just after the bin and spotted something that made him stop. Reaching out he grabbed at the metal rod and pulled. It came out easily revealing a two foot length of water pipe. He had a weapon. Ducking around the back of the first building it abruptly went dark. Blinking he stumbled to a stop as he tried to see, the LAPD must have shut their light down. He knew they could track him and his pursuers via infra-red but that was no use to him.

Finally seeing shadows, dark and not so dark angles and shapes he moved again, making his way over to the next building. It was slightly larger than the first and it seemed he was near the back as he couldn't find a door. Continuing on he came to the next corner and dived around it, a bullet whining off a metal beam just above his head. He'd been spotted.

A third smaller building a short distance away caught his attention. It butted almost up against a fourth building, a dark alleyway between the two. He made it into the shadows just as he saw his pursuers round the corner of the last building. They stopped, scanning around them before separating. One went left the other came on, the limp identifying him as Damian. They knew he hadn't gone to the right; another tall chain link fence blocked that route. Shrinking back into the darkness he waited. They were too close for him to run without being spotted. He raised the short length of pipe and settled into a familiar batters stance. Reminding himself that the length was not the same he readied himself to swing.

-100-1-10110-1001-100-

"_Tango Two to FBI."_

David grabbed for the handset resting on the passenger seat. This was more than just the regular location calls they'd been receiving since the pursuit began. "FBI."

"_Target helo is setting down in a park at West Side."_ The pilot reported.

They were coming through Lynwood and weren't even half way there, the lead had extended that far. "Which park?"

"_I don't have a name, it's off West Columbia, nearest cross street is North Webster."_

"Ground units? We're too far away."

"_Already onto dispatch. Units proceeding."_

"How far out are they?"

"_About ten. Helo is down, moving in. Looks like some smoke. … Person running."_ The officer reported, pausing regularly. _"Looks like your agent, he's heading towards some warehouses. … We've got movement back at the helo, three men out, two in pursuit."_

"Can you do anything to help him?" David was unable to hold back from interrupting during the brief transmission breaks any longer. He'd thought he was frustrated before, it didn't compare to now.

"_No room to land, we're spotlighting them. Too wet to kick up any dust. Best we can do." _David was not the only one who was frustrated._ "Switching to thermal so we don't compromise your agent."_

David grabbed his car radio handset, calling one of the vehicles tailing him. This one contained two agents and hopefully a street directory. "5122, the helicopter has landed in a park off West Columbia, cross street is North Webster down at West Side. Look it up, take the lead when you have it."

The LAPD helicopter continued its call. _"The two men have split up, they're searching for him. … One now heading towards your agent."_

A sharp honk of a modified car horn was followed by a flash as a dark sedan moved past, it was 5122 moving up to take the lead. David slipped in behind it and accelerated.

"_He's found him. They've come together."_ There was a much longer pause this time before the next account. _"One man is down, the other moving off."_

"Who?" David demanded.

"_If we light him up we risk your agent."_ The pilot warned.

"Light up the man that's down." David immediately fired back. If Don was down, lighting him up would do no more harm. If it was one of the offenders Don shouldn't be compromised.

Either way, he needed to know.

.

_**A/N:** Sorry, another cliffie..._


	17. Chapter 17

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

-100-1111-1110-

Damian was moving quickly and was about to enter the alleyway. Don's hands shifted on his improvised weapon, taking on an armed offender with a length of pipe was not generally recommended. He pushed all doubts from his thoughts as for the first time in what felt like nearly forever he had the advantage. Damian slowed as he moved further into the alley but continued on his course. His night vision must have still been impaired as he moved past his quarry without noticing the motionless form standing against the wall. It had been a slim chance but all that he had, his night had been filled with such chances, he was only too happy for them to continue a little longer.

In one smooth movement Don stepped out and swung. The heavy pipe caught Damian across the shoulders and he went down with a grunt. The gun skittered out of his hand and slid far enough away that he couldn't reach it. Damian wasn't out cold, he was barely even stunned. He groaned and started to push himself up. The agent was already in motion, pipe swinging down a second time, aimed carefully at the man's upper back. If his aim was just right this blow should finish it. The thought crossed his mind that here was an opportunity to kill the intruder, a few solid swings at the unprotected head and the skull would be crushed. But that was not the way he worked, if he could incapacitate him that was all he needed to do. Damian slumped back to the ground and this time didn't move. To be sure Don ruthlessly jabbed the end of the pipe into the man's kidney, there was no way he would be able fake unconsciousness at that sort of assault. The man didn't move.

_One down, one to go_. Over the noise of the helicopter overhead the sounds of the scuffle shouldn't have reached Kurt. Laying the pipe down carefully; the noise of a dropped pipe could carry, he found the pistol and picked it up. He quickly inspected it as best he could to find that it hadn't sustained any damage from its slide across the ground. The alleyway between the two buildings was surprisingly clean of debris so he could be reasonably sure that the barrel hadn't picked up any muck. Ensuring the safety was still on he awkwardly pulled the slide back to load a new round, he couldn't afford to have it jam. The familiar movements and the fact that he had a firearm provided a much needed boost to his confidence. He headed off, cautiously leaving the dark shadows and heading in the same direction he'd last seen Kurt. Now he was the hunter.

He'd made it over to the next building when once again the world was thrown into sharp relief, bright edges and black shadows. The helicopter was using its light again. He glanced back to see the spear of light stabbing down into the dark alley. They would have seen the pursuer and pursued come together before separating, the light would show them who had won the encounter. He ducked into the nearest black shadow but wasn't quite quick enough, the bullet struck the metal siding where he'd been standing. It was another miss but it meant that he'd been spotted. Kurt may not know his last man was down but he did know the agent was still on the loose.

Resisting the urge to fire back he took off running down the side of the building and out the opposite side. Ahead was a short chain link fence with a gate that stood open. He ran through and into a large yard filled with shipping containers. They were stacked two high in angled rows, long narrow spaces between each pair and a central passage running the length of the row. All shadows and angles making it an excellent place to hide and hunt offering concealment and protective heavy metal walls spaced closely together. He moved around the back of the first container and peered back the way he came.

Kurt was running across the concrete towards the line of containers, his path would take him to a spot about four containers down from him. Again he held his fire, shooting at a moving target in the dark with a handgun from that range offered no guarantee that he would hit the target let alone wound him sufficiently to bring him down. All it would serve to do was increase the last intruder's caution by revealing his quarry was now armed. He had to save that until it would actually aid him.

He turned and moved to the next container, working his way towards Kurt's point of entry. The helicopter was orbiting high above them having regained altitude after spotlighting Damian and he wished he had some means of contacting it. They would be able to vector him in or provide a warning if Kurt was coming around to get the drop on him. But there was no point in wishing for something he couldn't get. He moved onto the next container clearing the shadows as he went.

Cocking his head suddenly he listened, detecting a faint ululating sound. It was growing steadily louder and he thought he could detect a second siren slightly out of synch with the first. At least two vehicles were headed his way, most likely local LAPD units called in by the helo. He would have help soon. Leaning back against the side of a container he rested for a moment before changing his mind. He had to keep going, if he simply hunkered down and waited Kurt had more of an opportunity to make his escape, the sirens would have to make him rethink his current plan to take out the agent.

Checking the next row across as he made his way to the next container he noted movement, Kurt had gone completely through both rows and was tracking back on the far side. He was trying to circle around and come at the agent from behind. Increasing his pace but being careful of his footing Don turned down between the containers and closed the distance in silence. Kurt disappeared around another container and he slowed. Crouching he eased his head around until he could see down the narrow gap.

Kurt was at the far end, between the two rows, standing motionless as he sought to detect any sign of his quarry. His head turned towards the sounds of the approaching sirens and he seemed to hesitate. Looking upwards at the navigation lights of the helicopter seemed to make his decision for him. He would know as well as the agent that once officers arrived on the scene the chances of remaining ahead of pursuit were next to nil. The thermal imaging system on the aircraft was most effective at this time of night, or rather early morning, the cold metal containers and cool concrete would make his much warmer body show in strong contrast. He seemed to look regretfully in the direction he obviously was assuming his quarry to be, tossing a quick salute, before turning away and heading down the central passage between the row of containers. Escape now his obvious goal.

Don wasn't going to allow that if he had anything to say about it. Moving quickly back the way he came he ran past six or seven containers before deciding he'd gone far enough. Turning inwards he headed for the central passage hoping to reach that spot ahead of Kurt. Luck was with him, he'd timed it just right. The distance he'd needed to cover had been greater but he'd also moved faster. As he reached the edge of the container and stopped at the open space in front of him he heard footfalls approaching. Hands shifting on his weapon he tensed, bracing himself, ready to rush out at the first sign of movement. In all his years engaging in foot pursuits he'd not found anything more effective than a shoulder charge to take down offenders. It was all a matter of timing and angles.

A flash and he was out before conscious thought caught up with him. Hitting the man as solidly as he could had Kurt bouncing off the opposite container and going down hard an instant later. Prepared for the impact he'd been able to hold his balance only staggering slightly. Rotating his shoulder to loosen the tensed muscles he slipped the safety off the gun and aimed it downwards as he closed in the last few feet. Momentarily stunned Kurt barely moved as the semi-automatic was kicked out of his hand and away, spinning into the shadows. He was recovering quickly though forcing Don to back off before he could do anything more. Still in restraints he couldn't effectively search him without risking the weapon in his hand anyway. Kurt would have a good chance to disarm him. If he were forced to engage in a subsequent hand to hand struggle he had no reasonable expectation of coming out on top. The element of surprise and the extra reach afforded him by the two foot length of water pipe had been all that had allowed him to drop Damian.

Kurt was recovered sufficiently to push himself up to a seated position leaning back against the container. He shook himself before rubbing his hand over his right shoulder which had taken the impact against the solid metal wall after Don had hit him from the left. Calmly he looked back up at the agent, noting that the weapon held on him was not his own.

"You got Damian." Kurt deduced. "That's all three of my men now."

"He's still alive." The agent saw the surprise at that before the intruder nodded.

"You won't murder a man who's down."

"No. He's going to answer for his crimes, just like you." Don confirmed. He took great pleasure from his next words. "You're under arrest."

A sudden grin spread across Kurt's face as he laughed briefly, resting back against the container. "Feds and cops, so predictable."

"Maybe." He allowed. He kept his weapon and guard up, Kurt may appear to be resigned to his fate but until backup reached them and the man was in cuffs he couldn't relax his vigilance. "But we usually win in the end."

"That was never a given, Agent." Kurt responded after a moment's thought. He spelt it out. "We had the advantage. You were outnumbered and outgunned even if you still took one of mine down before we took you. I should have killed you then and there."

"Yeah, you should have." It was simple agreement on basic tactics. "I thought you were going to."

"But you still let us-?" Kurt broke off, the respect Don had seen earlier returned. "Perhaps not all cops are so predictable after all. In fact you've been anything but."

"I try."

The sirens were almost on them. It was an effort not to turn towards the sound, he couldn't wait to have someone arrive and take over from him. It had been a long night, he was hurting and the gun was already becoming heavy. They couldn't come fast enough.

"You even broke your word."

Bristling at the reproachful tone he felt the need to explain himself. His word was very important to him. "I said I would do whatever you wanted to get you away clear. You were away clear."

"LAPD were right behind us."

"They were hardly in any position to do anything." He argued back. "You were about to shoot me, you'd obviously decided you didn't need me any more. I was free from my word."

"You knew it was going to happen before you got into the chopper." Kurt accused.

Kurt recalled the words on the roof, the acknowledgement of the agent's probable fate before the night was out. There had been further tacit agreement by the doomed man, something that would have impressed Kurt if he'd not been so angry at the time. He had more than enough reason to be upset now, if the agent had stuck by his word and remained passive and compliant none of this would have happened. They wouldn't have been choking on fire extinguisher dust or have been forced into this cat and mouse game. If all had gone to his amended plan the agent would be lying dead in the helicopter and they would have been away in the car they'd secured here earlier as part of his contingency planning. The helicopter circling overhead had to be nearly running on fumes by now, Kurt had no doubt they would have escaped any ground based pursuit once it was forced to give up the chase.

"I knew it was likely. Just not when. But I got you clear, abiding by my word until then."

Kurt nodded reluctantly as he had to give him that. "I should have waited until we got here then just popped you in the back of the head." He mused.

Don heard the regretful tone and shivered at the matter of fact manner in which it was delivered. It would have been the most effective course of action. He would have held out hope of escape or rescue and Kurt would have shot him before he'd even known it was coming. It could so very easily have gone down like that. Kurt's anger and impatience to kill him had actually saved him.

He stared at his former captor in silence before abruptly realising that it was virtually silent, the sirens had ceased. He hadn't noticed them stopping but it could only mean LAPD were close. It was only seconds later that the first officer arrived, rounding a container a short distance away and approaching carefully. The relief was so great Don leant back against the container behind him. Remembering he wasn't out of danger just yet he checked back to see that Kurt hadn't moved. Unable to resist taking the risk he turned his head towards the oncoming dark figure.

"Down here, Officer."

Returning his attention to his prisoner he waited, watching the officer approach via his peripheral vision. Several thoughts occurred all at once. The helicopter hadn't yet lit them up, with an officer approaching it was a means by which they could illuminate and isolate the officer's targets. Next it was that the approaching man had a weapon held ready in his hand, nothing too surprising there, it was expected in fact. The last observation changed the context and caused a sharp spike of adrenalin. The man was limping and moving in a slightly hunched posture as if his back was causing him some pain.

.


	18. Chapter 18

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

-100-1111-1110-

Damian was just yards away by the time Don confirmed the man's identity. There was no option this time. He swung his gun up and fired quickly, the first round going wild before the next three found their target. The first two seemed to have minimal effect, striking him in the chest. The third however found the man's neck and he stopped in his tracks. Damian's hand went to the wound in reflex as his weapon fell from his other. There was a gurgle and he toppled forward.

Damian hit the ground at the same instant that Don was slammed bodily against the shipping container to his left. For the first time that night he was thankful for the handcuffs. The restraints prevented him losing his grip on his weapon and gave him added purchase to slam an elbow into Kurt's midriff. A second strike and the pressure from Kurt's body eased as he started to double up. A third quick jab with his elbow and he found the point of his attacker's jaw.

Kurt had not been prepared for the vicious defence put up by the agent, reeling back slightly.

Don however was fighting for his life and not going to pull any punches. Against the odds he won enough space to twist free. He had to end this immediately, before Kurt could recover. He moved in quickly and struck downwards with his arms onto Kurt's back as he brought his knee up, further winding his opponent. Pulling his hands back he gained momentum, bringing the butt of the gun down hard on the back of Kurt's head. Staggering away he watched Kurt fall.

Swinging the gun between the two fallen figures he attempted to cover them both. Despite the growing black pool around Damian suggesting that there was just the one he needed to keep under his gun he wasn't going to be caught out again. The expected light from overhead finally sprang into life forcing him to squint and blink furiously in order to get his eyes to adjust. He backed up further, until he bumped up against the next container, a solid wall at his back.

"LAPD!" The shout came from his right. "Drop your weapon!"

"FBI!" Don yelled back at the unseen officer, keeping his gun aimed at the two figures on the ground. He'd barely managed to clamp down on the reflex to aim the weapon at the speaker. "I have two prisoners."

"Drop your weapon, now!"

"I can't see you. Let me see some ID." Don demanded. He'd nearly let Damian get too close thinking he was LAPD. The light from above may not be on for the reason he thought it was. There had been no indication of any other offenders in the area but he'd already made that mistake tonight. There was a flash then a light metallic clatter as something shiny hit the ground in front of him. He recognised the silver badge. It really was the LAPD, the badge taken from a uniform shirt.

"Drop your weapon!" The order was repeated a second later.

Reassuring himself that Kurt hadn't moved he looked quickly to the right at Damian. The light reflecting off the bright red puddle showed all too clearly that Damian wasn't going to move ever again. He took a slow step forwards and lowered the gun, sliding the safety back on. Keeping his movements slow he bent and carefully placed the weapon on the ground. He backed away so that the gun was between him and the officer before sinking to his knees, shackled hands lifting to settle on the back of his head. It did not pay to argue too much with LAPD where weapons were involved. They may have been briefed by the helicopter but he couldn't blame the officer for being cautious.

Finally there was movement as the officer stepped from the inky blackness into the circle of light. The officer advanced slowly, weapon tracking as he took in Damian's body and then Kurt's unconscious form. A second officer appeared as the first approached the kneeling agent, taking the moment to kick the discarded gun aside. His weapon was half raised as he stopped, keeping both the agent and Kurt in his line of sight. The other stood further back covering both still forms.

"Agent?"

"Special Agent Don Eppes."

The officer took one hand off his weapon to activate the radio handset clipped to his shirt. "Tango Two, this is 405. Can you confirm this is the agent?"

He didn't hear any reply but the officer's gun suddenly dropped and was holstered. Approaching, the officer turned his head slightly to speak to his partner allowing the agent to see the earpiece and understand why he'd not heard the radio.

"Relax, Agent." The officer reached out a hand. "Can you stand? Let's get those cuffs off."

With the officer's help Don made it up, finding it harder than it should have been. He leant against the container again and held his hands out as the officer reached for his keys. There was one last thing that needed doing. "Have your partner secure Kurt. I don't know how long he'll be out for."

"It's under control, Agent."

He looked over to see the other officer already moving in, weapon aimed steadily at the downed man. The pressure around his wrists suddenly dropped away as the cuffs came off. Rubbing gently at his stinging wrists he glanced at his cuffs in the other man's hands before looking the officer in the eye. "Put those on him."

"Sure thing, Agent." The officer had understood immediately. He looked at Don in concern. "Will you be right for a moment while I give my partner a hand?"

Unsure why the officer was so concerned he nodded and watched with great satisfaction as the officers used his cuffs to restrain the surviving intruder. It was over, finally. He was safe, the hostages were safe, the offenders were all dead or in custody and the data was protected. Fatigue swept over him like a sudden wave, he was too tired and unable to stand any longer as the last of his strength drained completely away. Sliding down the hard metal side of the container as his legs collapsed under him he ended up sitting on the wet ground.

"Agent?" The same officer called in concern, rushing back over.

"I'm good." For some reason the words came out slightly slurred and it was becoming impossible to keep his eyes open.

The officer didn't believe a word, having already taken in the blood caked down the agent's left arm, the blood on the side of his head and neck and now the apparent exhaustion. Given all that he'd been surprised at how well the agent had seemed up until a moment ago.

"Dispatch, this is 405. I have an agent down. ETA on the bus to my location?" He listened to the reply before turning his attention back to the injured agent who appeared to be fading fast. "Two minutes, Agent Eppes. Come on, let me help you lie down. It won't be long now."

-100-1-10110-1001-100-

"_Dispatch, this is 405. I have an agent down. ETA on the bus to my location?"_

"_405, ETA is two minutes."_

David couldn't understand what had just happened. He'd heard the interplay between 405 and Tango Two and had received a report directly from the helo that one offender was down, one was in custody and most importantly Don was safe. They were close but not close enough. "Tango Two, this is FBI. Report!"

"_FBI, it appears your man is exhausted. 405 are looking after him. 405?"_

"_FBI this is 405."_ A new voice reported over the radio. _"He's just collapsed but I think he's going to be alright. The bus'll be here soon."_

"We'll be there in three."

"_For your advice, 405 and FBI. Tango Two departing scene, we are low on fuel and must return to base."_ The pilot reported.

His concern for his boss was strong but he remembered his manners. "Tango Two, thanks for the assist."

"_Least we could do, FBI."_ The pilot responded. _"We'll send the disc direct to your office once we land."_

The pilot was referring to the disc onto which all footage from his video and thermal imaging systems was directly recorded. "Thank-you. FBI, clear."

Swapping radios David called it in to Wright. He could have used his cell but this way the news got out immediately to all the agents involved.

"_Good work, Sinclair. Secure the scene and give me a SitRep on arrival."_

"Sir, his family?"

"_I'm going to call them now. I'll send someone to get them."_

5122 took one final turn, David close behind. Ahead of them they could see the flashing red and blue lights on the top of two cruisers stopped at the end of the street. Beside them was the welcome sight of an ambulance. Pulling up behind them David wasted no time heading into the complex. The reports from the helicopter had him searching for the container store and he quickly located it.

The four agents soon found the right spot, the torchlight from the LAPD officers and the EMTs providing a beacon now that the LAPD helo was gone. David sent one of the agents back to lead in the rest of the circus that was soon to start arriving. They had a major crime scene to secure and process. The second agent he sent back to retrace the route that Tango Two had reported Don had taken from the helicopter. Without waiting for his order the last agent made for the surviving offender, taking custody of him from the LAPD officers.

That left David free to go straight to Don. He found his boss being tended to by the EMTs who had clearly only just arrived as they were still unpacking equipment from their kits. Finding a way past them he made it to Don's side and knelt next to him.

"Don?"

The eyes fluttered for a moment but didn't fully open. "David?"

"Yes, Don." David rested a hand lightly on his right shoulder. "EMTs are here, we'll get you to hospital."

"Is everyone alright?"

David paused for a moment before he realised what Don meant. He'd had a brief report whilst en-route. "They're all okay. We've made entry to the building and they are being looked after."

"Good."

"What about you?"

A hand moved slightly before being captured by a paramedic and a heart rate monitor slipped onto a finger. "Fine."

Having set up the equipment the paramedic then climbed to her feet and went over to assess the prisoner, leaving her partner to work on the agent.

"You don't look it."

"Tired. Long night." His boss managed.

"Rest. You deserve it." David saw the faintest of smiles quirk at his boss' lips before easing away. It seemed Don agreed with his sentiment. He looked over at the closest EMT. "He's going to be okay?"

"We just got here, sir." The man said. He glanced over at the monitoring equipment, his eyes tracking the slow curl of the printout. He returned his attention to the patient, explaining as he worked. "His vitals look good. The wound to the arm isn't severe. Looks like he's got some injuries to his head that are concerning, but given his responses to you there may not be any serious damage."

David let out a breath in relief.

"We'll patch him up and head out. Can you spare someone to bring our truck in?"

"I'll do it." A voice interrupted.

David looked up at the uniformed officer and nodded his thanks as the paramedic handed up a set of keys.

The officer hesitated a moment. "Sir, my shift supervisor wants to know what further assistance you require."

The officer's question reminded him that he had work he should be attending to. Standing he moved out of the EMT's way as he answered the question. "We'll need whoever can be spared to identify and secure the outer perimeter of the crime scene. I'll get more agents here soon. Thanks for your help."

"No problem, sir." The officer headed off, talking into his radio as he went.

Looking over David saw the handcuffed offender being rolled onto his side. The man's eyes were open but he was clearly groggy. David had a duty to him as well, even if he didn't like it. Raising his voice he called out to the female paramedic. "What's his condition?"

"Coming round." She looked up at the agent to be sure he understood her next words; she knew how upset law enforcement could be when it came to prisoners being taken out of their hands. "He has to go to hospital and be seen by a doctor."

As she expected David was less than impressed by the delay this was going to cause before they could interrogate the man that had nearly cost them so much. He turned back to the EMT working on Don. "Agent Eppes goes first. And not in the same ambulance as him." David waved his hand back over at the prisoner.

"We've got another unit coming, don't worry." The EMT with Don reassured the agent, he knew how this worked.

David pulled out his cell and dialled Wright's number to provide the SitRep as promised. "LAPD are going to provide more bodies to secure this scene." He concluded.

"_I'm recalling all forensic staff and I've already sent you some more agents, they should only be a few minutes behind you. What's the condition of the prisoner?"_

"Pretty out of it. He'll be going to the hospital."

"_He doesn't move without a full team escorting him."_ Wright ordered. That meant a minimum of four guards, not the usual two. _"I'm not taking any chances with him. He has a lot to answer for. The other offender?"_

"Deceased." He hadn't needed to approach the second man to tell that. There was far too much blood around the body for it to be otherwise. Added to that was the fact that the EMTs were completely ignoring the body.

"_Eppes does good work." _There was fierce satisfaction in the ADIC's voice.

"Yes he does."

"_Stay with him."_

David slipped his phone back into his pocket. The other agents were already arriving as promised and he went to meet them, detailing tasks so everything would be under control enough to allow him to go with Don to the hospital. He'd had no intention of doing anything else.

.


	19. Chapter 19

**Numb3rs: Defence**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own them, I just borrowed them. Numb3rs and its characters are the property of those that created them. No copyright infringement intended. No financial reward gained. All real places and organisations are used in a fictional sense. Original characters and the storyline are mine however._

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

-100-1111-1110-

Don didn't remember much of the time between speaking with David at the scene and waking up in a hospital room to find that it was late afternoon. There had been some pain as his wounds were cleaned and patched, some bright lights shone into his eyes and constant interruptions from nurses checking his neurological responses. All that had occurred under a type of haze, blurred in his memory as a series of disjointed slivers.

He stirred, automatically stretching before opening his eyes. His left arm twinged and the bright light stabbed painfully at his eyes for a few moments but other than a slight headache he felt remarkably good. His eyes adjusted quickly and he saw the late afternoon sun streaming in through the window, the beam catching some stray dust motes. There was nothing ever pretty about a hospital room but it was a whole world better than shipping containers and rain slicked concrete. Sighing deeply he stretched again only to jump, jarring his ribs at the sudden start of the figure he'd just noticed in the chair drawn up close to the bed. Getting himself back under control he recognised his father and realised that he too must have been asleep.

"Donny?"

"Hey, Dad."

Alan turned to the chair closest the window. "Charlie, your brother is awake."

The sleepy grunt was somewhat unintelligible but his younger brother shifted then sat bolt upright as he processed the words. "Don!"

"Right here, Buddy."

Charlie squeezed in beside his father, reaching for his brother's hand. "I heard… When I heard the … I thought-"

"Easy, Bro'." Don interrupted. He knew what Charlie was trying to say even if he couldn't bring himself to actually say it. He remembered it had worried him several times during the night. "I'm okay. He missed."

"Missed? The doctor said-"

"Well, alright, not exactly missed." Don amended. "He got me on the arm, nothing serious. It's a graze, just like last time."

"Yeah, well it looked a whole lot worse when they brought you in." Alan put in.

"You were there?"

"They got us here in time to see you in the ER."

"Oh, man." That was the very worst time to see anyone brought to hospital. The patient always looked the worst then; blood not cleaned away and medical monitoring equipment making things look far more serious than they actually were. Not to mention the harsh lighting and antiseptic smells rounding out the whole picture. The mildest injury could look life threatening under those conditions. Granted, his injuries were a little more serious than mild but not that serious. "They shouldn't have done that."

"Of course they should." Alan snapped back. "I needed to see my son, they couldn't stop me."

"It's just," Don started to explain then dropped it. He looked around the private room to find it otherwise empty.

"They had to go back to the office." Charlie supplied. He patted at his pockets before coming up with his cell. "I'd better call them. They wanted to know when you woke up."

"So, Dad," Don started as Charlie moved away. "They tell you when I'm getting out of here?"

Alan shook his head at his son's eagerness. "The doctor thinks you'll be good to go in the morning."

Having already assessed himself he found he had to agree. He was still tired even if he felt far more refreshed than he would have expected so soon. Feeling the urge to stretch again he felt the stiffness in his shoulder and wrists. Lifting his hands he saw the dark bruises from the cuffs, it would be a while before they faded and it was not as though he could easily cover them up. While his hands were up he felt at his head finding bandages and a pad over his left ear. All in all another night in hospital wouldn't be too hard to put up with, provided of course he was out first thing. "Sounds good to me."

Having expected an argument Alan took a moment to find the right word. "Good. You need the rest. Gave us quite a scare there."

An eyebrow quirked up at that. He'd scared himself more than enough last night having lost count how many times he thought he'd been about to die only to put himself straight back into harm's way. He wondered how much they knew.

Alan correctly interpreted the look. "David said he'll let you tell us the whole story. He gave us some updates early on after Charlie had lost contact with you so we knew you were still alive after the shot that Charlie had heard. Having agents turn up at the door though was a bit of a worry."

"They didn't call?" Death messages were always delivered in person with no prior warning. Sending agents to Charlie's house without a call would have left his family with no other logical conclusion.

"It's alright, son. They called. It's just," Alan reassured Don quickly in response to his sudden anger, before he had to stop and clear his throat. "It's just that it could have gone that way and for a moment there I thought the call had been a mistake."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. You're okay and that's all that counts." Alan's mood lightened. "They tell us you saved a few lives last night." He added proudly.

"David said they were alright, have you heard?"

Charlie came back having finished his call. "David and the others will be here later. He said you'd ask and to tell you they are all doing fine. He had a message from someone named Alexis for you. She said to tell you that she isn't old."

"Good." He saw that Charlie's head was tilted to one side in a clear question at the meaning of the cryptic message but he didn't elaborate. He could rest a little easier now, Alexis was definitely okay. Alexis clearly understood what he'd been doing but she would get some mileage out of it nonetheless. The thought brought even more relief, it could have been so much different.

Charlie perched on the side of the bed and made himself comfortable. He waved at the television mounted on a swing arm in the corner of the room. It was on to an all day news channel with the volume turned down. "There's been some wild stuff on the TV."

Thoughts of the media and how the attack on the building would have been reported hadn't even crossed his mind. They would be having a field day with this one; it wasn't every day that an FBI office was targeted in such a violent manner. The fact that this was the second time the LA office had been so attacked would attract even more attention.

"It was a wild night."

"So," Charlie encouraged.

Finding the bed control Don raised the top half, he needed to sit up if he wasn't going to fall back asleep before he'd explained some of what had happened. He stared at the beginning, sanitising some points as he went and skimming others, and generally not going into too much detail as he knew it would upset his father. Charlie had become somewhat inured to his work and would be able to take it reasonably well, so to some extent had their father over recent years but not as much. He didn't need to know everything. What he left out Charlie would probably see in the file at some point anyway, sure that his team would find some reason to call his brother in.

It was late when the visitor he'd been hoping for finally arrived, his team had just left. He breathed out her name through the sudden unexpected emotion that surfaced at sight of her. "Alexis."

As the older woman entered the room Alan sensed the change in Don's mood and grabbed at Charlie's arm. He'd recognised the name from his son's story and had a flash of insight as to what his son needed most.

"Uh, Donny?" Alan started as she came closer towards the bed after a polite smile in his direction. "You mind if we get some coffee?"

"Thanks, Dad." Don said gratefully. The sharp stab of guilt he'd felt at seeing Alexis had prompted his father's move and he appreciated the privacy being offered.

Alexis waited as Agent Eppes' family left. She'd seen the strange look that had crossed the injured agent's face and wondered at it. "How are you doing?"

"I'm sorry."

Alexis moved forward and took a seat on the edge of the bed, carefully reaching out a hand and resting it over his unencumbered one. "Agent, what do you have to be sorry for?"

The caring face looked at him in genuine puzzlement and he found himself turning away as he explained. "I let them, no I made them point a gun at you. I abandoned you on the roof."

"You did no such thing." Alexis retorted, her voice firm. "You were only doing your job. You couldn't let them into the armoury and you saved my life on the roof. I heard what he said, going with them was likely to get you killed but you still did it, insisting on it. I won't hear of you being sorry for anything that you did." Now she turned away, her voice dropping. "I should apologise to you. I let them into Control."

It was a valid point, it had led to his downfall after providing the intruders with the upper hand. Unable to help it he turned back, curious at why she'd done that. Seeing his look Alexis explained before he could ask. As he listened he understood why she'd broken the seal, she was trying to save Simon, much as he'd been trying to save him on the third floor. Neither of them had expected the tech to have been in on the raid.

He told her that. "You couldn't have known. I didn't put it together in time to warn you."

"You had other things on your mind, Agent Eppes. You can't blame yourself for that."

True, he had been a bit busy. He managed a smile. "I guess."

Alexis smiled back. "So, no apologies. Except maybe for calling me old."

"I-" He started to protest before seeing the glint in her eye that showed she completely understood the reason for the description. She was only having a dig. His smile warmed.

She patted his hand and stood, returning the rare smile that she so loved. "I have to go, they told me I couldn't keep you up for too long."

That reminded him, he'd been very rude. "Are you alright? Did Damian hurt you?"

"Damian? Oh, him. No. I'm okay." After a gentle squeeze of his hand she released him and started for the door. She stopped before heading out, turning back in an echo of the roof. "I'm proud of you, Don."

Touched, he was speechless as she left. He stared after her for a few minutes, snapping out of it when his family returned. The one regret that had been plaguing him since he'd woken was gone, he'd been forgiven.

-10011-10101-1110-100-1-11001-

By nine o'clock the next morning he was walking into the Field Office, trailed by a very unhappy Alan and his less upset younger brother. Charlie wanted to be here, to see for himself what had happened. Don knew that wouldn't be happening any time soon, the affected areas restricted, but neither of them had been willing to let him go back to the office without him.

Pleased not to have to use the stairs this time they rode up to his floor in the elevator. They were met by David and the rest of the team who immediately made a fuss of him; bringing him coffee and making him take his seat at his desk. They'd seen him the night before and had received their own brief account of the story from his perspective and he theirs, but that didn't stop them now. Finally he had to call a halt to it being there for a reason after which he was going home to Charlie's. Everyone else may be been recalled to work after the incident but he still had some well deserved rest days ahead of him.

"David, are they ready for me?"

"They're waiting in Wright's office. He wanted to see you first."

Alan and Charlie both knew exactly why he was here but still looked on with disapproval as he left with David to see the ADIC.

Wright immediately stood when they entered the office. He extended his hand. "Agent Eppes, that was some exceptional work. Glad you made it out alive."

Taking the offered hand he shook the firm grip a little embarrassed by the praise. "Just doing my job, sir."

"No, this went well beyond that. We owe you a great debt of gratitude for saving the lives of our people and ensuring that the data didn't fall into the wrong hands."

"Thank-you, sir." He had just one burning question; he'd almost died for it after all. "What was the data?"

"Blackmail material."

"Say what?"

"That's right. They did all this, killed the guard and everything else so they could get their hands on the files we have on various people around town. Rich and famous people." Wright clarified. Eppes nodded, they both knew Los Angeles had more than its fair share of rich people with secrets they needed kept hidden. "It seemed that Prentice had noticed the files from time to time and succumbed to temptation."

"Prentice?" The name didn't ring any bells.

"Simon Prentice. He was a senior computer analyst." Wright used the more formal title for the computer tech.

"So it was all his idea, not Kurt's?" He'd been updated on the intruder's condition. Kurt Neumann had been released from hospital the day before after only a few hours observation and had been in federal custody ever since, being closely questioned.

"That's what Kurt is telling us." He saw the doubtful look on his agent's face. "We believe him. Seems they knew each other from school and have been in touch from time to time since. We've been able to confirm that. Kurt found out that Simon had planned to steal the data and seeing a golden opportunity muscled his way in on the action."

"Unbelievable." Don supposed though, that he really shouldn't be too surprised. While he may have personally thought such data was pretty much worthless he knew there were many others that believed otherwise. He'd dealt with a few blackmail cases over the years and could understand that the amount of data they held on public figures would be attractive. It was a pretty gutsy move by a computer tech to try and steal those files. But then if anyone was going to get away with it he would have been a good candidate. "If Kurt hadn't stepped in we probably would never have known the data was stolen."

Wright nodded, they'd already reached that conclusion after some of their other techs had started analysing the programs Prentice had been using. He said as much then added, "We'd like your brother to help us with that since it looks like Prentice had been using a modified version of one of his programs."

Don had expected the request. "He's down in my office. I can call-"

"Not today." Wright shook his head. "He can start on it tomorrow. This is going to take some time to work through."

"Then the sooner we get started the better." Don stood. He'd seen the people he needed sitting outside the ADIC's office.

"Are you sure you want to do this now?"

"It has to be done, better now while it's all still fresh." He understood that it was that very 'freshness' that was causing Wright to be hesitant over allowing this even though he'd organised what they needed at his insistence. Putting it bluntly he'd killed two men just over twenty-four hours ago and had witnessed the death of two others. He'd been assaulted and threatened and been forced to standby whilst hostages were terrorised. Somewhat surprisingly he wasn't too disturbed by what he'd done; it had simply been what he'd had to do. Nor did he feel particularly affected by what had happened to him. There had been no time to see a shrink, that would be forced on him over the next few weeks whether he wanted it or not, but he was comfortable with his part in what had happened, especially after having cleared the air with Alexis.

"It can wait."

"Those areas can't be cleared until I've done this." Without having even been to those particular areas of the building it was basic knowledge of procedure that told him that. A section of basement, the roof, stairwell, the computer lab on the fourth floor and the entire third floor would all be sealed off as crime scenes. To a lesser extent, purely due to operational requirements, so was Control. Operations in the building generally were going to be seriously affected until all the areas were cleared. Away from the building and of less concern to him was the sport field, the nearby warehouses and the container storage area where the events had played out to their conclusion. It would be good though to get it all out of the way together.

Waiting for him was a team of investigators, forensic experts and cameramen, still and video. There were several levels to what he was about to do, a filmed walk-through of the whole event. The forensic experts were looking at it to confirm where they needed to look for evidence. The investigators needed to know the sequence of events and their number included two other agents whose job it was to look at the agent-involved-shooting component and determine if Don's actions could be classed as a good shoot. He had no concerns there but it was a part of procedure and had to be done. There was even his union rep and their lawyer to ensure no undue pressure was placed on him during the process. It was going to be quite an entourage.

He hadn't even given his statement yet. That could be attended to later, he wanted to get this part done and gone as soon as he could. It was going to take all day but he was prepared for that.

"Okay." Wright also stood to see him out. "They've been briefed, if you need to stop, stop. If they argue, call me."

"Sir."

He was exhausted when he returned to the office late in the afternoon with David. He'd called back several times trying to get his father and Charlie to go home but each time they'd refused, wanting to be there for him as soon as he got back since they couldn't be with him while he did the walk-through. They ushered him into the break room where they'd spent the day and directed him onto one of the couches, a fresh cup of real coffee from the coffee shop down the road pressed into his hand. His team had gathered around and were keen to hear how the day had gone. It didn't take too long but he was distracted by some strange looks being sent his way by one of his team members. It had been happening earlier in the day as well and finally he was unable to let it go on any longer.

"Uh, Colby?" Don started,

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"Checking out your feet."

"Why?" The word was drawn out as he wondered whether the junior agent had lost something along the way. Marbles, perhaps.

"Well, you had this whole _Die Hard_ thing going on there for a while…"

END

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_**A/N:**__ All done. Thanks for the reviews and comments; once again they are always appreciated. And, as a special treat for those who thought Don got off a bit lightly in this fic I have a new unrelated one-shot which will go up tomorrow - pure Don!Whump.  
_

_For forms sake, a second disclaimer - 'Die Hard' © 1988, belongs to the 20__th__ Century Fox Film Corporation. Any resemblance between that movie and this work of fiction are purely coincidental and weren't actually intended._


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